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CATHOLIC 
BOWKSKIlflt&STATIONKI 

lltflWashinguni St, 
* "^Afc™i! BOSTO: 



CATHOLIC WORSHIP: 



[Jfenual oi papular lirsinuftan 



i. 



ON THE 



CEREMONIES AND DEVOTIONS OF THE CHURCH. 



BY 



FREDERICK CANON OAKELEY, M.A. 

i » 

MISSIONARY RECTOR OF ST. JOHN'S, ISLINGTON. 



And I John saw the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven 
from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.' 

Apoc. xxi. 2. 



With ^permission. 



SECOND EDITION. 



NEW YORK: 
THE CATHOLIC PUBLICATION SOCIETY, 

9 WARREN STREET. 
1872. 






a^oJ^* 



ADVERTISEMENT TO THE FIRST EDITION 



The following little book is intended as a sequel to one 
published by its compiler many years ago in a cate- 
chetical form, entitled ' The Order and Ceremonial of 
the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass explained in a 
Dialogue between a Priest and a Catechumen.' It will 
be found to contain a good deal of information already 
supplied by its predecessor; but the compiler has thought 
it better to risk the charge of superfluous repetition than 
to make constant references to a book which his readers 
might not have before them. 

It is hardly necessary to add that the present work, 
like that of which it forms the sequel, is intended, not 
for the direction of Priests or the information of experi- 
enced Catholics, but for the assistance of recent con- 
verts and non-Catholic inquirers. Though it presents 
what its compiler believes to be the most approved con- 
struction of the rubrics, his object has been that rather 
of exhibiting the general practice of the Church (except 
where otherwise noted) than of adjusting such practice 
with the proper standards. The care now bestowed in 
this country on the orderly conduct of Divine Worship 
goes far to supersede the necessity of any such adjust- 
ment. 

Two or three quotations have been made in the fol- 



IV ADVERTISEMENT. 

lowing pages from a volume of sacred poetiy, lately 
published under the title of Lyra Liturgiea. The ob- 
ject of that work was in many ways illustrative of the 
one now presented to the public ; while not a little will 
be found in this manual which is illustrative of its 
poetical companion. By a comparison between tim^u 
two works of one common author, the reader will at all 
events understand the light in which that author humbly 
conceives that the ceremonial provisions of the Church 
should be regarded; and though he does not pretend 
that this light is the only true one, yet, in justice to 
himself, and in the way of apology for so very matter- 
of-fact a treatise as the present, he thinks it but fair to 
ask that the technical and the meditative aspects of 
Ceremonial which he has thus tried to set forth should 
be used to explain one another. 

The compiler cannot bring these few prefatory re- 
marks to an end without expressing his gratitude to 
those numerous subscribers who have so generously en- 
couraged his undertaking. He asked for a guarantee 
of 600 copies, and thought that he was asking more 
than he had a right to expect. But the response to his 
appeal has come in the form of a pledge from 13 6 sub- 
scribers to the extent of no fewer than 1706 copies. All 
he can say, in answer to this jn-oof of confidence, is, (hat 
he has done his best to justify it. 

St. John's, Islington. 
Whitsuntide 18G7- 



ADVERTISEMENT TO THE SECOND EDITION. 



In publishing a second edition of this little manual, the 
compiler takes the opportunity of thanking the Catho- 
lic public for the indulgence with, which it has been 
received. The least return which he can make for that 
indulgence is to take care that it shall be made as ac- 
curate as possible, and he has accordingly given it an 
attentive revision, with the aid of an able and expe- 
rienced ceremonialist. 

> 
St. John's, Islington, 

Feast of St. Ignatius, 1872. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

A ft rertisement to the First Edition . . . iii 

Advertisement to the Second Edition v 

PART I. 

permanent girottcjcmcrtis of t\t Cbunlj. 

I. Interior of a Catholic Church .... 1 

II. The Most Holy Sacrament 2 

III. The Furniture of the Altars and Sanctuary . 4 
iv. Religious Objects in the interior of .a Catholic 

Church 6 

V. Other Objects of Devotion in a Catholic Church 6 

PART II. 

(Drbhtarg (Q&zzs of i\z Clntrdj. 

I. Arrangement of the Sanctuary for High Mass . 7 

II. Preparations for High Mass 8 

in. The Procession to High Mass .... 9 

IV. The Asperges 9 

V. The High Mass 11 

VI. Pontifical High Mass 1G 

vii. High Mass in the presence of the Diocesan Bishop 1 7 
viii. High Mass, with Exposition of the Blessed Sa- 
crament IS 

IX. Procession of the Blessed Sacrament . . .19 

X. High Mass of Requiem 19 

XI. Solemn Vespers . 20 

XII. Complin 22 

xiii. Benediction of the Most Holy Sacrament . . 23 

PART III. 

OiHcts proper to tertaut j^osoits. 

I. Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin 

Mary ,25 

II. Ash- Wednesday 25 



fill CONTEXTS, 
in. Passion-tide 


PAGE 
. 26 


IV. Palm Sunday 

V. The Tenebras Office .... 


. 26 
. 28 


• VI. Holy Thursday : 

The High Mass .... 


. 29 


The Washing of the Feet 

vil. Good Friday 

VIII. Holy Saturday 

IX. Paschal- tide 


. 39 

. 44 
. 49 



PAKT IV. 

gefrotxotml IJratfes .of % £§mtlj 

I. Indulgences . 
II. The Stations of the Cross 

III. The Angelus 

IV. The Rosary . 
V. The Month of Mary . 

vi. Other Popular Devotions 



50 
52 
54 

56 



APPENDIX. 

(Bzrxsioxvcd (Mas of % Cl^nrclj 

I. Baptism of Infants 
II. Baptism of Adults 

III. Public Reception of a Convert . 

IV. Confirmation ..... 
V. Matrimony 

VI. Obsequies and Interment 

VII. The Interment of Children . 
VIII. Ordination : 

The 'four Minor Orders 
The*, holy Order of Subdeacon 
The Order of Deacon . 
The Ordination of Priests . 
IX. Consecration of a Bishop 
x. Conclusion 



A Glossary of Ecclesiastical Tebms used in 
Work 



the 



57 
60 
62 
63 
64 
GG 
69 



71 
72 
73 
74 
76 
80 



83 



CATHOLIC WORSHIP. 



PART I. 
SJetnunent Arrangements of tfje (EfjureJ. 



I. 

INTERIOR OF A CATHOLIC CHURCH. 

At the entrance of every Catholic church, chapel, and 
oratory, there is placed, either in the wall or against ifc, 
a vessel of Holy Water/'' from which Catholics entering 
the church are accustomed to take a few drops, with 
which they touch themselves on the forehead, breast, 
and shoulders, saying at the same time the words, ' In 
the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the 
Holy Ghost, Amen.' The intention of this practice is 
twofold ; first it reminds us, on entering God's House, 
of the Most Holy Trinity, as we repeat the invocation 
of the Three Persons in one God ; and secondly, of the 
Passion and Death of God the Son, as we make on our 
bodies the sign of the Cross on which He died for us. 
It may also be regarded as symbolical, and suggestive 

* See Glossary at the end. The terms explained in the 
Glossary are printed in italics the first time they occur in the 
text. 

B 



2 CATHOLIC WORSHIP. 

of the purity with which we ought to enter into the 
presence of God. 

Every Catholic church contains at least one Altar 
at the principal end, which is called the High Altar, 
and is dedicated to God under the invocation or patron- 
age of the Saint, Angel, or Mystery from whom or from 
which the church derives its name. Larger churches 
also contain other Altars, either placed in side chapels, 
or, at any rate, railed off from the body of the church. 
Such Altars are sometimes found in a line with the High 
Altar, but, according to the practice generally prevail- 
ing at Rome, they are arranged along the sides of the 
church, at right angles to the High Altar. The High 
Altar is generally elevated by three steps from the en- 
closed space around it, which is called the Sanctuary, 
and which is also raised above the level of the rest of 
the church. The side Altars . are likewise raised from 
the floor by at least one step. These Altars, and the 
chapels in which they may be contained, are dedicated 
to God under the invocation of some divine Mystery, or 
some Saint to whom there are reasons for special re- 
verence, whether on account of the universal honour 
of the Church, or of national or local veneration. In 
churches attached to Religious Communities, Saints who 
have belonged to the particular Order or Congregation 
which those communities represent have usually an Al- 
tar of their own. In churches where there is more than 
one Altar, there is generally an Altar dedicated to the 
honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary, unless the church 
itself should be under her invocation, in which case the 
High Altar will, of course, be the Altar of our Lady. 

THE MOST HOLY SACRAMENT. 

The Blessed Sacrament is reserved in* all churches 
for the communion of the sick and the adoration of the 



THE MOST HOLY SACRAMENT. O 

Faithful. The Altar where It is kept may be known 
from its having one or more lamps burning before it. 
In parochial churches It is usually kept at the High 
Altar; but in cathedrals, and some other large churches, 
there is generally a special chapel and Altar of the 
Blessed Sacrament at which It is habitually kept, and 
from which It is removed to other Altars on certain oc- 
casions. As lamps are sometimes lighted for devotion 
before other Altars besides that at which the Blessed 
Sacrament is reserved, it may be well to mention, for 
the purpose of avoiding mistake, that the only certain 
indication of the Adorable Presence is that of a veil of 
silk, or other rich material, covering the Tabernacle. 
The Faithful are in the habit of making a genuflexion, 
that is, of going down on the right knee, whenever they 
pass before the Tabernacle in which the Blessed Sacra- 
ment is kept ; or (should It be visible, as at Benediction 
or solemn Exposition) of kneeling before It on both 
knees. If the act of consecration in the Mass be going 
on, they continue to kneel during the time which is oc- 
cupied by that act. It is likewise customary even for 
Priests, on the three latter days of Holy Week, when 
the crucifix alone is present on the Altar, to pay it the 
same outward honour as the Blessed Sacrament would 
otherwise receive, out of respect to the Mystery of the 
Passion which is then uppermost in the mind of the 
Church, and at all times those engaged in the public 
offices of the Church, except the Celebrant and Canons, 
are required to genuflect on passing before the High 
Altar surmounted by its crucifix. It may here be stated, 
once for all, that such outward bodily acts express dif- 
ferent degrees of honour according to the object to which 
they are directed, and the intention of those who per- 
form them. By kneeling before the Blessed Sacrament, 
or before a crucifix, Catholics mean to express an inte- 
rior act of supreme adoration towards the Second Per- 
son of the Blessed Trinity, in the former case actually 



4 CATHOLIC WORSHIP. 

present under the Sacramental veils, and in the latter 
symbolically represented. By this act of external hon- 
our when performed towards an image of the Blessed 
Virgin, they mean to denote a worship or veneration 
infinitely lower than that which is due to God, yet far 
higher than they would be justified in paying towards 
even the most exalted of the Saints. By the same 
bodily act as performed towards a relic, or image of a 
Saint, they express no more than the homage due to 
some portion of a body which has been inhabited in a 
special manner by the Holy Spirit of God, or to some- 
thing which has come directly into contact with such a 
body, or, lastly, to some visible representation and me- 
morial of one thus signally favoured above the other 
servants of God. 

III. 

THE FURNITURE OF THE ALTARS AND SANCTUARY. 

Every Altar is surmounted by a Crucifix, which is 
removed only when the Blessed Sacrament is exposed. 
The High Altar, and that of the Blessed Sacrament, 
alwa} r s contain a receptacle for the Blessed Sacrament, 
which* is called a Tabernacle, over which is usually a 
veil of silk or other rich material, which is drawn back 
when the Blessed Sacrament is not present, and drawn 
over the door of the Tabernacle when It is present ; the 
interior of the Tabernacle is also veiled by a curtain of 
rich silk. The vessel in which the Blessed Sacrament 
is reserved for the communion of the Faithful is called 
a Ciborium, and ought to be of precious metal, or at 
least silvered or gilt, and to have a covering of rich 
white silk, or cloth of gold, when the Blessed Sacra- 
ment is contained in it. The frame in which the Blessed 
Sacrament is exposed is called a Monstrance (some- 
times, less ju'c-peiTy, Remonstrance), or Ostensorium ; 
and the smaller frame in which the Blessed Sacrament 
Itself is placed for Exposition is called the Lunette. 



ALTAR-FUEXITUBE. d 

The Monstrance should be of the same precious mate- 
rial as the Chalice or Ciborium, and in many churches 
is studded with jewels. When the Blessed Sacrament 
is exposed in the Monstrance, whether for a shorter 
or a longer time, It is raised on an elevation called a 
Throne. 

Six tall candlesticks, containing wax candles, al- 
ways stand on the High Altar, and at least two on 
other Altars. These candles are lighted at all Offices, 
but not at Low Mass, unless celebrated by a Prelate. 
When the Bishop of the diocese performs solemn Mass, 
a seventh is added. Other candles, to the number at 
least of twelve, are lighted when the Blessed Sacrament 
is exposed. Flowers may be placed on the Altars, ex- 
cept at penitential seasons, or during Masses of Re- 
quiem. The Altars always contain relics within them, 
and are covered with three white linen cloths, and 
during Mass three cards are placed upon them con- 
taining those parts of the Mass which it is necessary 
for the Priest to have immediately before him. For the 
rest he makes use of the Missal. The consecration al- 
ways takes place on stone. The Altar is often fronted 
by an Antependium of the colour proper to the day. 
The variation of colours according to the clay shall after- 
wards be explained. 

The Sanctuary contains, besides the Altar, at least 
one small table called a Credence, intended for the sa- 
cred vessels and other articles required at Solemn Mass. 
It also contains seats for the Priests and Sacred Minis- 
ters called Sedilia ; and when prepared for the solemn 
Offices, other seats for the various attendants. In the 
wall of the Sanctuary, there is usually an aperture with 
a drain for carrying the remains of the blessed water 
into the ground. This is properly called a Piscina, and 
may be seen in many of our ancient, though now dese- 
crated, churches. The Holy Oils of the year are most 
properly kept within the wall of the Sanctuary. 



JATHOLIC WORSHIP. 



IV. 

OBJECTS IN THE INTEEIOR OF A CATHOLIC CHURCH 
INTENDED FOR RELIGIOUS USE. 

Near the entrance of the church is placed the Bap- 
tismal Font, which is filled with water solemnly blessed 
on Holy Saturday according to a rite hereafter to be 
explained. The Font should be railed off, and is some- 
times surmounted by a stone or wooden canopy. 

The Confessionals usually consist of three compart- 
ments ; that in the centre being intended for the Priest, 
and those at the sides for the penitents who alternately 
present themselves to be heard by him. Between the 
central and each of the lateral compartments there is a 
grating of close network through which the voice is au- 
dible, but which prevents any other than oral communi- 
cation between the Confessor and the penitent. 

Catholic churches usually contain a pulpit, though 
the instruction is sometimes given from the Altar. The 
pulpit will more generally be found on the left side in 
going up a church, that is to say, on the Gospel side of 
the Altar. 

V. 

OTHER OBJECTS OF DEVOTION IN A CATHOLIC CHURCH. 

Catholic churches usually contain images and sa- 
cred pictures. These are often placed over the several 
Altars, but may also be found in other parts of the 
church. Among the most frequent objects of devotion 
belonging to this class are the series of pictures, or 
mural sculptures, representing different incidents in the 
history of our Lord's Passion, and called the Stations 
of the Cross. These are fourteen in number, beginning 
with our Lord's Condemnation, and ending with His 
Burial. "When Relics are exposed on the Altars, their 
presence is denoted by lights burning before them. 



ARRANGEMENT FOR HIGH MASS. 7 

Candles or lamps are also frequently lighted before 
images, at the cost of devout persons wishing to show 
this mark of reverence to the Saint whose image they 
so honour. 



PART II. 
©rtrfoarg ©Sato of tlje CJjutcg. 



I. 

ARRANGEMENT OF THE SANCTUARY FOR HIGH MASS. 

The Antependium, as well as the curtain on the 
Tabernacle, should be of the same colour as the vest- 
ments, though gold is often used as a substitute for all 
colours excepting purple or black. Other drapery used 
in the church may be of any ecclesiastical colour. The 
large candles which always stand on the High Altar 
are lighted shortly before the High Mass ; other candles 
may also be lighted on great Festivals, on a lower level. 
Other candles may also be lighted before the Conse- 
cration; and it is rubrical, though not customary, to 
light an extra candle before the consecration even at 
Low Masses. The Missal is placed on the Altar at the 
Epistle corner, open at the Mass of the day. On the 
credence-table are placed the Chalice and Paten duly 
prepared, and covered with two veils, the smaller 
one (which is called the chalice veil) with which the 
chalice and paten are always covered except during 
the more solemn portion of the Mass, and a larger one. 
called a humeral veil, used at High Mass only, to cover 
the shoulders of the Subdeacon while he holds the pa- 
ten, between the Offertory and the Paternoster. The 
burse is placed over the veils ior the convenience of 
removal at the proper time in the Mass. On the ere- 



& CATHOLIC WORSHIP. 

clence-table are also placed tlie Cruets containing the 
wine and water, the book from which the Epistle and 
Gospel are sung, and all else which is required for the 

Mass. 

II. 

PKEPARATIONS FOE HIGH MASS. 

The vestments used at Mass vary in colour accord- 
ing to the subject of the day, and in richness according 
to its rank in the calendar of the Church. As a general 
rule, the vestments used at High Mass are more costly 
than those used at Low Mass. The colours are five ; 
white, red, green, purple, and black. Gold may be used 
instead of any of the three former colours. White, 
which is typical of purity, is used on all Festivals of 
our Lord, excepting those which relate to His Passion ; 
and on all Festivals of our Lady without any excep- 
tion. It is also used on all days sacred to the Angels, 
or to Saints who are not Martyrs ; on the Feast of the 
Holy Trinity, of the Dedication of Churches, on the 
Sundays during the Christmas, Epiphany, and Easter 
seasons (except Sundays which fall within the Octave 
of a Martyr's clay), and on week-days (kept as such) 
during the same seasons ; also on all clays of Octaves 
when the Festival itself requires white. Red is used 
on Whit Sunday and during Whitsun week, probably 
as symbolical of the fire in the form of which the Holy 
Ghost descended upon the Apostles ; also, as being a 
symbol of blood and martyrdom, on Festivals of the 
Passion of our Lord, on all Martyrs' clays, and on the 
days within their Octaves, even on Sundays. Green is 
used, as being the least expressive of colours, on all 
ordinary Sundays (not in special seasons), and on week- 
days not marked by any Festival or Octave, excepting 
in the same special seasons. Purple, which is a peni- 
tential colour, is proper to the Sundays in Advent and 
Lent, as well as to the week-clays during those seasons, 



THE ASPERGES. U 

should no Festival occur on them. It is also used on 
the Feast of the Holy Innocents (except when it falls 
on a Sunday), since the Church regards this as a day 
of mourning, although, on the Octave day of that Feast, 
red is used as on ordinary Martyrs' days. Black is con- 
fined to Good Friday and All Souls' day, but is used at 
all Masses of the Dead. 

III. 

THE PROCESSION TO HIGH MASS. 

In long processions, when the parochial cross is 
borne, the Thurifer precedes with the thurible. He is 
followed by the cross, borne between two Acolyths with 
lighted candles. "When Confraternities walk in a pro- 
cession, they precede the cross, that of the Blessed Sa- 
crament, as the first in rank, coming next to it. The 
cross is 'followed by clerics, or other attendants, habited 
in surplice or cotta, those of the highest rank coming 
last. The procession terminates with the Celebrant, 
preceded by the Beacon and Subdeacon, in single file, if 
the Priest be habited for the Mass ; if habited in cope, 
the Deacon and Subdeacon are at his right and left. If 
the Bishop of the diocese assist, he walks last, preceded 
by his assistant ministers ; and if an Archbishop, by the 
Archiepiscopal cross. As the procession approaches 
the High Altar, the Confraternities which may be pre- 
sent file off, the clerics or assistants not directly en- 
gaged in the ceremony take their places in the choir 
after genuflecting and bowing to each other, and the 
Priest with his Ministers, and the Bishop if present, 
enter the Sanctuary, and proceed to the foot of the 
Altar. 

IV. 

THE ASPERGES. 

The ceremonies of High Mass are preceded, on all 
Sundays throughout the year, by the Asjperges, or sprink- 



10 CATHOLIC WORSHIP. 

ling of the pec pie with holy water previously blessed 
for that purpose. This ceremony is sometimes per- 
formed as a separate rite ; and, in that case, the Priest 
enters the church attended by an assistant, and at the 
conclusion of the rite returns to the sacristy to vest for 
the High Mass. But it is more correct that the Priest 
with the Sacred Ministers should enter the church in 
procession (the Priest being vested in cope) and give 
the Asperges without returning to the sacristy before 
the Mass. In this case he will change his cope for the 
chasuble, in the sanctuary, when the Asperges is con- 
cluded. The rite of the Asperges is as follows. The 
Priest, kneeling between the Sacred Ministers on the 
lowest step of the Altar, receives the aspersory from the 
Deacon, sprinkles the Altar three times, touches him- 
self with the holy water, and sprinkles the Deacon and 
Subdeacon on each side of him. Meanwhile he intones 
the words, ' Asperges me,' which the choir follows up 
with the remainder of the verse of the 50th Psalm, of 
which they form the beginning, and of which the fol- 
lowing is a translation : ' Thou shalt sprinkle me with 
hyssop, and I shall be cleansed ; Thou shalt wash me, 
and I shall be whiter than snow.' The choir then sings 
the Gloria Patri (except in Passion- tide), and repeats 
at least the first portion of the verse. Should there be 
a Bishop in the sanctuary, the Priest gives him the 
aspersory to touch; he then goes from the sanctuary 
into the church, attended by his Ministers, and sprinkles 
the people on either side, after which he returns into 
the sanctuary, and sings the prescribed versicles and 
prayer, of which the following are translations : 
' V. O Lord, show us Thy mercjr. 

R. And grant us Thy salvation. 

V. O Lord, hear my prayer. 

R. And let my cry come unto Thee. 

V. The Lord be with you. 

R. And with thy spirit. 



THE HIGH MASS. 11 

Let us pray. 

Hear us, Holy Lord, Almighty Father, Everlasting 
God, and vouchsafe to send Thy holy Angel from hea- 
ven to guard, cherish, protect, and defend all who in- 
habit this dwelling-place, through Christ our Lord. 
Amen.' 

During the Easter Season — that is, from Easter-day 
to "Whitsunday both inclusive — the following Antiphon 
is substituted for that used at other times : ' I saw water 
going forth from the Temple on the right side, and all 
to whom that water came received salvation. Alleluia, 
Alleluia.' 

Alleluia is also added to the versicle, ' Lord, show 
us,' &c, with its response. 

The object of this ceremony is to impress on the 
people an idea of the purity with which they ought to 
assist at High Mass, the most solemn Office of the 
Church. 

V. 

THE HIGH MASS. 

It should be observed, for the instruction of stran- 
gers, that High Mass is merely the more solemn cele- 
bration of the great Eucharistic Sacrifice, which, when 
offered without those more solemn accompaniments, is 
called Low Mass. For a description of what is common 
to both celebrations, I must refer the reader to a little 
book which I published several years ago under the 
title of * The Order and Ceremonial of the Most Holy 
and Adorable Sacrifice of the Mass.' I will here spe- 
cify those ceremonies only which are peculiar to High 
Mass. 

The Priest who celebrates, having exchanged the 
cope for the chasuble at the Sedilia, where the Deacon 
and Subdeacon have also assumed their maniples (or, if 
there be no Asperges, having proceeded in his chasuble 
from the sacristy), goes with his Ministers to the foot of 



12 CATHOLIC WORSHIP. 

the Altar, where lie begins the Mass, the Deacon and 
Subdeacon making together the responses, which at a 
Low Mass are made by the Server. All three then as- 
cend to the 'predella of the Altar, while the thurifer 
comes up on the Epistle side with the thurible, into 
which the Celebrant puts incense three times, and af- 
terwards blesses it in these words : ' Mayest thou be 
. blessed by Him in whose honour thou shalt be burned.' 
He then receives the thurible from the Deacon, and in- 
censes the cross over the Altar, and afterwards the Altar 
itself, both above and below on each side. He is then 
himself incensed by the Deacon, and afterwards pro- 
ceeds to read the Introit of the Mass, and say the Kyrie 
with the Sacred Ministers. All three either remain at 
the corner of the Altar, or go to the Sedilia, according 
to the custom of different churches. 

When the Priest and his Ministers begin the Mass, 
the choir sings the words of the Introit, and afterwards 
the Eyrie. When the choir has concluded the Kyrie, 
the Celebrant goes to the middle of the Altar and in- 
tones the Gloria in excelsis. The Deacon and Subdeacon, 
who have previously stood behind him, one behind the 
other, then go up to his right and left at the Altar and 
recite the Gloria with him, after which act the three 
retire to the Sedilia, and remain seated till the choir has 
ended the ' Gloria.' At the words ' Adoramus Te,' ' Gra- 
tias agimus Tibi,' ' Jesu Christi,' and ' Suscipe clepre- 
cationem nostram,' which are especially expressive of 
reverence, they take off their birettas, and incline the 
head at a signal from the Master of Ceremonies. The 
choir having ended the ' Gloria,' the Celebrant and Sa- 
cred Ministers return to the Altar, where the Celebrant 
sings the collect or collects of the day, and afterwards 
reads the Epistle and Gospel, which are respectively 
sung by the Subdeacon and Deacon, the former of whom 
receives the benediction of the Celebrant after singing 
the Epistle, and the later before singing the Gospel. 



THE HIGH MASS. 13 

Between the Epistle and Gospel the Celebrant will 
have recited the Gradual or Tract, and, on certain days, 
the proper Sequence, all of which should be sung by the 
choir. Previously to the singing of the Gospel, the 
Celebrant puts incense into the thurible for the use of 
the Deacon, who incenses the book from which he sings 
the Gospel, while the choir is responding ' Glory be to 
Thee, Lord,' in answer to the announcement of the 
Gosx^el of the day. Yv 7 hen the Deacon has ended the 
Gospel, the Subdeacon carries the book from which he 
has sung it to the Celebrant, who kisses the beginning 
of the text, saying at the same time, ' By the evangeli- 
cal words may our offences be blotted out.' The Cele- 
brant is then incensed by the Deacon, and, if there be a 
sermon or instruction, the Deacon and Subdeacon ac- 
company the Celebrant to the Sedilia, where they re- 
main seated till the instruction is ended. If there be no 
instruction, the Celebrant, as soon as he has been in- 
censed after the Gospel, goes to the middle of the Altar 
and intones the Credo, and is joined, as at the ' Gloria,' 
by the Sacred Ministers, who proceed to recite it with 
him, and then go down with him to the Sedilia, where 
all three remain seated till the choir (which begins the 
music of the ' Credo' as soon as the Celebrant has in- 
toned the first words) has finished it. At the words 
1 Jesum Christum' (if sung after the Celebrant and his 
Ministers are seated) they bare their heads. At the 
' Et incarnatus est' they also remain uncovered and in- 
clined, till after the words, 4 Et Homo factus est.' On 
Christmas Day, and on the Feast of the Annunciation, 
they kneel during the same words, out of reverence to 
the great Mystery of the Incarnation, then specially 
commemorated. The Celebrant and his Ministers also 
bare their heads at the word ' Adoratur.' When the ' Et 
incarnatus est,' and words immediately following, have 
been sung, the Deacon receives the burse, carries it to 
the Altar, and spreads the Corporal. Just before the 



14 CATHOLIC WORSHIP. 

choir has concluded, the three return to the Altar. 
When the Celebrant has sung ' Dominus vobiscum' and 
' Oreinus,' the Deacon goes to his right, and the Sub- 
deacon to the credence-table, where he takes the chalice 
and paten, and brings them under the humeral veil 
(with which he has been invested by the Master of 
Ceremonies) to the Altar, where the Deacon uncovers 
them, gives the j)aten to the Celebrant to offer the bread, 
pours wine into the chalice, to which the Subdeacon 
adds a small quantity of water (previously blessed by 
the Celebrant), and then assists the Celebrant in offer- 
ing the chalice. This mingling of wine and water in the 
chalice is supposed to be commemorative of the Blood 
and Water which flowed from the Sacred Side of our 
Lord when pierced with the lance. The Subdeacon 
next receives from the Deacon the paten, which he car- 
ries under the humeral veil to the foot of the Altar, 
where he continues to hold it, raised to the height of his 
eyes, till the Paternoster. The Deacon then assists the 
Celebrant to put incense into the thurible. The Cele- 
brant, assisted by the Deacon, incenses the bread and 
wine, and afterwards the Crucifix and Altar, as at the 
beginning of the Mass, excepting that he now uses cer- 
tain special words, both in blessing the incense, and in- 
censing the Altar. While blessing the incense he says, 
' May the Lord, through the intercession of St. Michael 
the Archangel standing at the right hand of the Altar of 
incense, and of all His elect, vouchsafe to bless this in- 
cense, and to receive it as an odour of sweetness, 
through Christ our Lord. Amen.' At the incensation 
of the bread and wine he says, ' May this incense, 
which Thou hast blessed, ascend to Thee, Lord, and 
may Thy mercy descend upon us.' At that of the Cru- 
cifix and Altar he says, ' Let my prayer. O Lord, be di- 
rected as incense in Thy sight, and the lifting up of my 
hands as an evening sacrifice. Set a watch, O Lord, 
before my mouth, and a door round about my lips. In- 



THE HIGH MASS. 15 

cline not my heart to evil words, to make excuses in 
sin.' He then gives the thurible to the Deacon, saying 
the words, ' May the Lord enkindle within us the fire of 
His love, and the flame of everlasting Charity. Amen.' 
The Deacon then incenses the Celebrant, and afterwards 
the choir and Subdeacon, and is himself incensed by the 
thurifer. At the conclusion of the Preface, the Deacon 
and Subdeacon go up to the right and left of the Cele- 
brant, and say with him the Sanctus. Immediately af- 
ter the Sanctus has been said by the Priest, lights are 
brought into the Sanctuary for the Elevation, and taken 
away when it is over, except in Masses of the Dead, 
and when Communion is given, at which they remain 
till after the Communion. At the Elevation all kneel, 
but the Deacon rises to remove the pall from the chalice, 
and to replace it. Towards the end of the Paternoster 
the Subdeacon goes up to the Altar, resigns the paten, 
and is divested of the humeral veil. At the ' Pax Do- 
mini' he again goes up to the Altar to recite the Agnus 
Dei with the Celebrant and Deacon. When the Cele- 
brant has concluded the first of the three prayers before 
communion, he gives to the Deacon the ' pax, 1 or kiss of 
peace, which the Deacon afterwards gives to the Sub- 
deacon, and he to the Senior Cleric on each side of the 
choir, by whom it is given to the rest, and so on through- 
out the whole choir. It is in the same way circulated 
among the assistants in the Sanctuary. After the Ablu- 
tions the chalice and paten are re-arranged by the Sub- 
deacon, who carries them to the credence-table. The 
Mass then proceeds to its conclusion. The ' Ite missa 
est' is sung by the Deacon to a tone prescribed in the 
Missal, and varying on different days ; he and the Sub- 
deacon then kneel to receive the blessing, unless they 
be both Canons, in which case they bow their heads. 
When the last Gospel has been said by the Celebrant, all 
retire in procession in the order in which they entered.-' 4 
* In the lesser churches, where there is a paucity of Clergy, 



16 CATHOLIC WORSHIP. 

VI. 

PONTIFICAL HIGH MASS. 

When High Mass is celebrated by the Bishop of 
the Diocese, a throne is erected for him on the Gospel 
side of the Altar. The Canon of the Mass is placed on 
the Altar instead of the usual cards. The Missal is 
borne in the procession into the church by the Subdea- 
con of the Mass, together with the maniple of the Bishop, 
which the Subdeacon presents to him to put on at the 
prayer ' Indulgentiain' at the beginning of the Mass. 
The Bishop, before ascending to the Altar, has his As- 
sistant Priest at his right, and the Deacon and Subdea- 
con at his left. "When the Bishop has come to the 
Altar and kissed it, as usual, he lasses also the first 
words of the Gospel of the day, presented to him by the 
Subdeacon. After incensing the Altar, and being him- 
self incensed, he goes to his throne, or, if not celebrating 
in his own Diocese, to & faldstool raised from the floor 
on the Epistle side of the Sanctuary. Pie remains there 
till the Offertory, reading those parts of the Mass which 
are sung by the Deacon, Subdeacon, or choir, and in- 
toning as usual the ' Gloria,' ' Credo,' and ' Pax vobis,' 
which he sings before the Collect or Collects instead of 
' Dominus vobiscum,' as well as the 'Dominus vobiscum' 
and ' Oremus' before the Offertory. Whenever he reads, 
the Assistant Priest holds the ougia near the book, while 
the Deacon takes off or puts on the mitre at the proper 
times; before returning to the Altar he washes his 
hands, the Deacon and Subdeacon assisting him. The 
Mass proceeds as usual to the first of the three prayers 
before Communion ; after which the Bishop gives the 



Mass is often sung without the Sacred Ministers. In this case, 
the Celebrant himself sings the Gospel, and if no cleric be pre- 
sent, the Epistle also. Incense is not used, as a rule. A Mass 
thus celebrated is called a l Missa Cantata.' 



HIGH MASS BEFORE THE DIOCESAN. 17 

kiss of peace, not as usual to the Deacon, but to the 
Assistant Priest, who gives it to any Priest who may be 
present in the choir, as well as to the Deacon, who 
afterwards gives it, as usual, to the SuMeacon. The 
Bishop washes his hands after he has received the se- 
cond of the ablutions. The Mass then concludes as 
usual, the Bishop giving the Pontifical instead of the 
ordinary blessing. 

When a Bishop celebrates who is not the Bishop of 
the Diocese, he occupies, instead of a throne, a faldstool 
on a raised platform below the Altar on the Epistle side, 
except when he incenses the Altar at the beginning of 
the Mass, and except also during the whole time be- 
tween the Offertory and Communion. His Assistant 
Priest, Deacon, and Subcleacon occupy the ordinary 
Sedilia. 

VII. 

HIGH MASS IX THE PRESENCE OF THE DIOCESAX BISHOP. 

If the Bishop who assists at High Mass be the Bi- 
shop of the diocese, a raised throne is erected for him 
under a canopy on the Gospel side of the Sanctuary, 
with seats for his Assistant Priest and Deacons, and 
others for his various attendants. In the procession he 
occupies the last place, as that of the greatest dignity. 
He may assist either in cappa magna without mitre, or 
in cope with mitre. He blesses from the throne the 
water used in the Sacrifice, and the incense, as well as 
the Sacred Ministers of the Mass. He reads, from a 
Missal of his own, those portions of the Mass which are 
proper to the day. Before going up to his throne, he 
begins the Mass at the foot of the Altar, while the Cele- 
brant and his Ministers respond. If he assist in cappa 
magna, he is incensed at the Offertory only ; if in cope, 
at the beginning of the Mass and after the Gospel also. 
After the Gospel (or, if there be a sermon, after the ser- 

c 



18 CATHOLIC WORSHIP. 

mon) liis Assistant Priest, or the preacher, proclaims the 
Indulgence'''' granted by the Church to those who are 
present at a High Mass at which the Bishop of the dio- 
cese assists. Previously to the proclamation of the In- 
dulgence, the Deacon of the Mass sings the Confiteor, 
and the Bishop, after having pronounced the absolution, 
gives the solemn blessing. As soon as the ' Sanctus' 
lias been said by the Celebrant, the Bishop descends 
with his attendants from the throne, and kneels at a 
faldstool at the foot of the Altar till the consecration is 
ended. The Bishop receives the ' pax' from his As- 
sistant Priest, who goes to the Altar to receive it from 
the Celebrant, and then gives it to the Bishop, who 
passes it to his Assistant Deacons. 

VIII. 

HIGH MASS, WITH EXFOSITLON OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT. 

The principal differences between an ordinary High 
Mass and a High Mass with Exposition of the Blessed 
Sacrament, are the following : the Priest consecrates two 
Hosts ; one for the Mass, and the other for the Mon- 
strance, unless the Blessed Sacrament be exposed dur- 
ing the whole of the Mass. During the time, whatever it 
may be, that the Blessed Sacrament is exposed, the Ce- 
lebrant and his Ministers genuflect in those parts of the 
Mass where otherwise they would bow, and kneel, on 
approaching and quitting the Altar. It will be observed 
also that the Blessed Sacrament is always incensed on 
the knees, and that the Celebrant, instead of being him- 
self incensed, or washing his fingers in the usual place 
at the Epistle corner of the Altar, descends a step, and 
is so incensed or washes the fingers as not to turn his 
back upon the Blessed Sacrament. During the Exposi- 
tion of the Forty Hours the hand-bell is not rung at any 
Mass celebrated in the church. 

* See Part IV. ' Indulgence,?.' 



HIGH MASS OF REQUIEM. 19 

IX. 

PROCESSION OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT. 

When a procession of the Blessed Sacrament takes 
place after High Mass, the Celebrant, having exchanged 
his chasuble for a cope, incenses the Blessed Sacrament 
before It is removed from the Altar, and is then vested 
in a veil, under which he receives the Monstrance, on 
his knees, from the Deacon, and carries It under a bal- 
daccliino through the church, or, if so be, into the open 
air. The choir precedes, singing the ' Pange lingua' 
and other hymns appropriate to the Most Holy Sacra- 
ment. On the return of the procession, the Deacon 
places the Monstrance on the Throne, and when the 
doxology of the hymn begins, assists the Priest with the 
thurible, and the Blessed Sacrament is incensed by the 
Priest as at Benediction. The Priest having sung the 
usual prayer, and been vested with the humeral veil, 
goes to the predella of the Altar, where he receives the 
Monstrance, on his knees, from the Deacon, and gives 
benediction with It to the assembled people. 

At the Exposition of the ' Forty Hours,' the Litanies 
are sung after the procession on the day of Exposition, 
when no benediction is given, and before it on the day 
of Deposition* 

X. 

HIGH MASS OF REQUIEM. 

High Mass of Requiem, or of the Dead, differs from 
the ordinary High Mass in the following particulars : 
the Altar is not incensed at the beginning of the Mass, 
but at the Offertory alone. The Celebrant and Sacred 
Ministers consequently proceed at once, after ascending 

* At Rome, and in some churches in this country, the Blessed 
Sacrament is never moved from place to place except under a 
small canopy. 



20 CATHOLIC WORSHIP. 

the steps of the Altar, to the Epistle corner, where the 
Celebrant reads the Introit, not making the sign of the 
cross on his own person, but towards the book. He 
then says the Kyrie, and sings the collect or collects. 
The Subdeacon does not receive his blessing after the 
Epistle, nor the Deacon before the Gospel. After the 
Celebrant has read the ' Dies hrae,' he and the Sacred 
Ministers go to the Sedilia, and remain seated while it 
is sung by the choir. Towards the close, they rise and 
proceed to the Altar, where the Celebrant reads the 
Gospel, and the Deacon prepares to sing it. The can- 
dles are not carried to the place at which the Gospel is 
sung, nor is incense used. The water is not blessed 
before it is infused into the chalice, nor does the Sub- 
deacon cany the paten to its place at the foot of the 
Altar. He therefore assists the Celebrant at the incen- 
sation of the Altar, and, together with the Deacon (who 
is also at libert} 7 , because he does not, as at an ordinary 
High Mass, incense the choir), supplies the water and 
towel, instead of the acolyths, at the Lavabo. He also 
incenses the Blessed Sacrament at the Elevation, an 
office which, when he holds the paten, is discharged hj 
the Master of Ceremonies. The ' pax' is not given, 
nor the blessing at the end of the Mass. At Masses 
of the Dead, and some others previously specified, the 
lights brought in at the ' Sanctus,' and usually taken 
away after the Consecration, remain in the Sanctuary 
till after the Communion. 

XI. 

SOLEMN VESPERS. 

The procession into the church at Solemn Vespers is 
the same as at High Mass, excepting that the officiating 
Priest always wears a cope. On the greater Festivals, 
and in larger churches, he is often attended by assist- 
ants also wearing copes ; but usually his attendants wear 



SOLEMN VESPERS. 21 

surplices orcottas only. There should be two Chanters, 
who are also allowed to wear copes, of a material in- 
ferior to those of the clergy. On entering the choir, the 
clergy and others arrange themselves on either side, 
while the chanters occupy high stools facing the Altar. 
The officiating Priest, after saying the preparatory 
prayers on his knees at the foot of the Altar, goes to 
the Sedilia. where he recites in silence the ' Pater' and 
'Ave,' and intones the opening words, 'Deusin adju- 
torium,' &c. The principal chanter then comes up to 
him and sings the first words of the first Antiphon, 
which the Priest repeats, and the choir follows up.* 
The first words of the remaining Antiphons are given 
out in succession by the clergy present. At the conclu- 
sion of each Antiphon, the chanter intones the first 
words of the following psalm, and the choir on either 
side proceed to chant the alternate verses of each of the 
five psalms. The psalms being ended, the Priest sings 
the capitulum, and the principal chanter then comes up 
to him to announce the first words of the Hyrnn,f which 
lie repeats, and the hymn is then continued by the choir 
in alternate stanzas. The chanter then sings the Ver- 
sicle, to wdiich the choir responds ; after which the 
chanter goes up to the Priest, and gives him the first 
words of the Antiphon before the 'Magnificat,' as he 
had previously clone with the first Antiphon. When the 
choir begins the ' Magnificat,' the Priest makes the sign 
of the cross, and goes to the Altar, which he incenses, 
saying the ' Magnificat.' Other Altars of the church also 
are sometimes incensed. When the incensation of the 
Altar or Altars is completed, the Priest returns to the 

* i. e. when the Vespers are of a Double Festival ; when of a 
Semidouble, the entire Antiphon is not sung till the end of its 
Psalm, or of the ' Magnificat.' In the commemorations, the whole 
Antiphon is always sung. 

f At the first stanza of the hymns { Veni Creator' and ' Ave 
maris Stella,' which are direct addresses to God or the Blessed 
Virgin, all kneel ; also at the Invocation of the Cross in the hymn 
'Vexilla Re<ris.' 



22 CATHOLIC WORSHIP. 

Sedilia, and is himself incensed by the principal As- 
sistant, who afterwards proceeds, with the thurifer, to 
incense the clergy and choir, and, lastly, the second As- 
sistant. He then gives up the thurible to the thurifer, 
by whom he is himself incensed, and afterwards the 
other assistants and the people. The ' Magnificat' being 
ended, and its Antiphon repeated, the Priest sings the 
collect of the day ; and, if other Festivals be commemo- 
rated, the collects of those Festivals also, preceded by 
the proper Antiphon, Versicle, and Response. After the 
' Dominus vobiscum' has been repeated, the chanter 
sings ' Benedicamus Domino' (to which, during Easter 
Week, two alleluias are added), and is answered by the 
choir (under the same condition), 'Deo gratias ;' after 
which the Priest sings the short prayer for the repose 
of the faithful departed. It is usual in this country, 
when the Vespers are not immediately followed by Com- 
plin, to sing the short hymn to the Blessed Virgin pro- 
per to the season ; but, if Complin succeed, this hymn 
is sung at the close of that office. 

In some churches the Vespers are chanted in the 
organ-gallery, in which case the Antiphons are given 
out without the ceremonies here described. In Fiome, 
and in some churches elsewhere, the psalms are sung 
on certain great Festivals to pieces of concerted music. 
The ceremonies of Solemn Lauds are precisely the same 
as those of Solemn Vespers. 

XII. 

COMPLIN. 

Complin is the last Office of the day, and, unlike the 
rest, does not vary, except very slightly, according to the 
season. It is most properly sung by the Priest in his 
place in the choir, and without solemn accompaniments, 
the officiating Priest being habited simply as a cleric. 
It begins with an invitation for a blessing, made by the 



BENEDICTION OF THE SACRAMENT. 23 

chanter to the Priest, to which the Priest responds in the 
words, ' May God Almighty grant ns a quiet night, and 
a perfect end.' The chanter then sings a short address, 
and the Priest, after singing, V. ' Our help is in the 
Name of the Lord,' R. ' Who made heaven and earth,' 
proceeds to say the Confession and prayers of Absolu- 
tion ; after which the Priest sings ' Deus in adjutorium.' 
The Psalms are then chanted alternately by the choir, 
with the Antiphon repeated in full ; then follow the Ca- 
pitulum, Hynm, Responsaries, and the ' Nunc dimittis' 
with its Antiphon ; after which the Priest sings the Col- 
lect and Blessing ; which is followed by the Etymn of 
the Blessed Virgin already mentioned. On semidouMcs 
and week-days the Paternoster, Credo, and certain ver- 
xicles and responses are introduced between the 'Nun? 
dimittis' and the Collect. 

XIII. 

BENEDICTION OF THE MOST HOLY SACRAMENT. 

The Benediction of the Most Holy Sacrament is the 
most frequent rite of the Church, with the exception of 
the Holy Mass. It usually follows Vespers or Complin, 
as well as other public devotions, and is often celebrated 
alone. The Priest, vested in white or gold* cope and 
stole, and attended by two Assistants, kneels at the foot 
of the Altar, while the senior Assistant (usually a Priest 
wearing a stolef) goes up to the Altar, spreads the cor- 
poral, takes the Blessed Sacrament out of the Taber- 
nacle, places It on the corporal, makes his adoration, 
then places It on the ' throne,' returns to the officiating 
Priest, assists him while he puts incense into the thu- 
rible, with which the Priest incenses the Blessed Sacra- 
ment three times. When the Deacon opens the door of 

* When Benediction immediately follows Vespers, the cope 
of the Vespers may be retained, but white is always proper. 
f A Deacon with stole may assist. 



24 CATHOLIC WORSHIP. 

the Tabernacle, it is usual in this country for the choir 
to sing the hymn ' O Salutaris,' which is generally fol- 
lowed by the Litany of the Blessed Virgin, or some psalm 
or piece of music appropriate to the day. Afterwards is 
intoned the first line of the hymn ' Tantum ergo,' which 
the choir continues. At the beginning of the second 
stanza the Priest again puts incense into the thurible, 
and incenses the Blessed Sacrament three times, as be- 
fore. When the hymn is ended, the versicle and response 
'Panem de ccelo,' &c, are given out, and the Priest sings 
the collect. A veil is then placed on his shoulders, and 
the Assistant Priest or Deacon having taken down the 
Blessed Sacrament from the throne, the Priest receives 
It into his hands, and blesses the people with It in the 
form of a cross. A Bishop giving Benediction blesses 
the people in the same form three times. The Piiest 
assisting, or Deacon, then replaces the Blessed Sacra- 
ment in the Tabernacle, folds and puts up the corporal, 
returns to the Priest, and all retire. Benediction may 
be given with the Blessed Sacrament in the Ciborium. 
In this case the door of the Tabernacle is opened, the 
inner veil withdrawn, and the Blessed Sacrament in- 
censed. The door remains open, but the Ciborium is not 
taken out till the Benediction is given with it. During 
the Easter season and the Octave of Corpus Christi one 
alleluia is added to the versicle and response, as well as 
to those which follow the ' Te Deum,' should it be sung. 
At Pontifical Benediction, and on other solemn oc- 
casions, the Assistants wear the sacred vestments. 



ASH- WEDNESDAY. 25 

PART III. 

t&Sitzs proper to certain Reasons. 



I. 

FEAST OF THE PURIFICATION OF THE BLESSED V1EG1N MARY. 

Peeyiously to the High Mass on this day, candles 
are solemnly blessed and distributed, first to the clergy, 
and then to the people, by the officiating Priest. Daring 
the distribution, the choir sings the * Nunc dimittis,' re- 
peating the third verse, in which that 'light' of the Gos- 
pel is mentioned of which the ceremonies of this day are 
symbolical. The candles are afterwards lighted and 
borne in procession through the church, the choir sing- 
ing in the procession certain prescribed antiphons. On 
the return of the procession the candles are extin- 
guished, and the High Mass is celebrated. The candles 
are again lighted and borne in the hand during the sing- 
ing of the Gospel, and also from the Sanctus to the 
Communion. 

II. 

ASH -WEDNESDAY. 

Previously to the High Mass on this day, the offici- 
ating Priest blesses the Ashes in the form prescribed, 
and with the prayers appointed in the Missal. The ashes 
are made from the Palms blessed the previous year, which 
are burned for that purpose. The Priest first receives 
the sacred ashes from the principal cleric present, and 
then places them on the heads of the Sacred Ministers, 
and on those of the other clergy, and of the people, the 
choir in the mean time singing penitential antiphons. 
As the Priest places the ashes on the head of each, he 
says in Latin the words, ' Remember, mortal, that thou 



26 CATHOLIC WORSHIP. 

art dust, and into dust shalt return.' High Mass is af- 
terwards celebrated according to the ferial rite. 

III. 

PASSION-TIDE. 

During Passion-tide all pictures, crosses, and images 
in the church are veiled in purple, both in token of grief 
and to signify that during this time Christ walked no 
more openly amongst the Jews, and that His glory was 
obscured and hidden under persecution. At Masses of 
the season, the psalm ' Judica,' with which the Mass 
usually begins, is omitted, as well as the ' Gloria Patri,' 
in all parts of the Mass. On all the Sundays in Lent 
(except the fourth or Midlent Sunday) the Deacon and 
Subdeacon wear chasubles folded up in front, instead of 
the proper habits of their Orders. The Subdeacon takes 
off the chasuble before singing the Epistle, and resumes 
it afterwards ; the Deacon takes it off before singing the 
Gospel, and does not resume it till after the Communion, 
but wears in the mean time a broad purple stole over 
that with which he is already invested. The ' Gloria in 
excelsis' is omitted in Lent, as in Advent and on Holy 
Innocents' Day, and ' Benedicamus Domino' substituted 
at the end of the Mass for ' Ite missa est.' 



IV. 

PALM SUNDAY. 

Previously to the High Mass on this day palm- 
branches are solemnly blessed, distributed, and borne in 
procession, in memory of our Blessed Lord's entry into 
Jerusalem on the Sunday before His Passion, when the 
children of Israel met Him with palm-branches, strewing 
their garments in His path. The rite of their benediction 
differs from those of the benediction of the candles and 



PALM SUNDAY. 27 

ashes in having certain features of the Mass itself inter- 
woven into it. There is a special Lesson and Gospel, 
and a proper Preface, followed by the Sanctus. 

After the palms have been blessed and distributed, 
they are borne in procession outside the church, the 
choir singing the prescribed antiphons. Before the pro- 
cession returns to the church a portion of the choir is 
admitted within the door, and sings, alternately with 
those who remain outside, the hymn which will be found 
in the office of Holy Week. When the procession has 
reentered the church, High Mass is begun. On this day, 
as on Good Friday (as well as on the Tuesday and Wed- 
nesday in Holy Week, if High Mass be celebrated on 
those days), the Passion of our Lord is sung before the 
Gospel of the day, according to a prescribed rite. Three 
Deacons (or Priests so vested, but without dalmatic or 
folded chasuble) enter the Sanctuary at the end of the 
Tract, and going to that part of it where the Gospel 
is usually sung, proceed to chant the narrative of the 
Passion from the Gospel. The part of our Lord is sus- 
tained by one of the Deacons, that of single speakers in 
the narrative by another, while the third chants the 
history of the events. At Rome, and in some churches 
in this country, the part of the multitude is sustained 
by the choir, who respond in certain beautiful and ex- 
pressive pieces of harmonised music. In churches where 
this practice does not prevail, the Deacon who takes the 
part of the single speaker takes that also of the multi- 
tude. Where the proper number of Deacons, or Priests 
acting as Deacons, cannot be provided, the part of our 
Lord can be chanted by the Celebrant at the Altar, who, 
in any case, recites the whole of the Passion. When the 
Passion is concluded, the Deacon of the Mass sings the 
Gospel, but without the customary announcement, and 
without the accompaniment of lights. The Mass then 
proceeds to the end as usual, the palms being borne in 
the hand during the Passion and Gospel. 



28 CATHOLIC WORSE ir, 

V. 

THE TENEBRffi OFFICE. 

On the Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday afternoons 
or evenings of Holy Week is sung what is called the 
Office of Tenebrae, consisting of the Matins and Lauds 
proper to those days, accompanied with special cere- 
monies. The name Tenebree (' darkness') is supposed 
to refer, either to the supernatural darkness at the Cruci- 
fixion, or to the extinction of the lights at the end of the 
Office, symbolical of it, which is hereafter to be described. 
The Office begins abruptly by the recitation of the first 
antiphon and psalm, followed by the other psalms with 
their respective antiphons. No musical instruments are 
allowed to accompany the chant. When the psalms of 
the first Nbcturn are concluded, a portion of the Lamen- 
tations of Jeremiah is sung in three lessons to a beauti- 
ful and plaintive tone. The Lessons of the second 
Nocturn are taken from St. Austin, and those of the 
third from the Epistles of St. Paul. At the conclusion 
of each of the nine psalms of Matins, and the five of 
Lauds, a candle is extinguished on a triangular stand 
placed in the Sanctuary, at the top of which one candle 
remains to be extinguished later. The Lauds follow the 
Matins without any interruption, and begin with the 
antiphon of the first psalm. The psalms of Lauds are 
followed immediately by the ' Benedictus' with its proper 
antiphon. At each of the last six verses of the ' Bene- 
dictus,' one of the six large candles on the Altar is ex- 
tinguished, and, ultimately, all other lights in the church, 
with the exception only of the topmost candle on the 
triangular stand. This is afterwards carried and hidden 
under the Epistle corner of the Altar, while the choir 
sings the words, ' Christ was made obedient for us unto 
death.' On the second day are added the words, ' Even 
the death of the cross ;' and on the third, ' Wherefore 



HOLY THURSDAY. 20 

God hath exalted Him, and given Him a Name which 
is above every name.' When the words, ' Christ was 
made,' &c. are begun, all kneel, and continue kneeling 
till the end of the Office. When they are concluded, the 
officiating Priest says the Paternoster secretly, and then 
recites, with the choir, in a low tone of voice, the psalm 
b Miserere.' He then repeats the collect in the same tone, 
hut without the usual ending. A slight noise is after- 
wards made, in reference, probably, to the earthquake 
and confusion of nature which occurred at the Cruci- 
fixion, the candle is brought back from the Altar, and 
replaced in the triangular stand, and all retire. In Home 
the psalm ' Miserere' is sung to harmonised music. 

The words of the Tenebrse Office vary on each of the 
three days, but its structure and ceremonies are always 
the same. 

VI. 

HOLY THURSDAY. 

The Thursday in Holy Week called Holy Thursday 
(or sometimes in England Maundy Thursday) is kept 
as the Feast of the Last Supper. One Mass only (which 
should be a High Mass) is celebrated in each church 
on this day, and the earlier portion of it with accom- 
paniments of joyful solemnity, which render it an ex- 
ception to the otherwise mournful ceremonies of the 
week. The High Altar, with its Tabernacle and Cruci- 
fix, is vested in white, and the vestments of the Mass 
are white or gold. Additional lights are placed on the 
Altar in honour of the Blessed Sacrament. In another 
part of the church, an Altar is richly adorned with 
lights and flowers in profusion. Over this Altar is 
placed a receptacle for the Blessed Sacrament, which 
is frequently in the shape of an ark or sarcophagus, gilt 
or richly carved. This is intended to receive within it 
the Blessed Sacrament after Its removal from the Altar 
where the High Mass is celebrated, and to contain U 



30 CATHOLIC WORSHIP. 

till the Biicl of the Office on the morning of Good Friday. 
The chapel thus prepared is frequently called the Chapel 
of the Sepulchre, but more properly the Altar of Repose. 

At the Mass, the introductory psalm ' Judica,' al- 
ways used by the Priest before ascending to the Altar 
(except during Passion-tide and in Masses of the Dead), 
is omitted. As soon as the Celebrant has intoned the 
' Gloria in excelsis,' the organ strikes up, and the hand- 
bell used in the Mass is rung continuously till he has 
ended the recitation of the ' Gloria.' The outer bells of 
the church are also sounded. When the Priest has 
ended the ' Gloria,' the inner bell ceases, but the bells 
of the church may continue sounding till the choir has 
finished the music. The organ then ceases, and no 
musical instrument is afterwards allowed in the Mass 
or Office till after the intonation of the ' Gloria' on Holy 
Saturday. Two Hosts are consecrated; one for the 
Mass, and the other for removal to the Altar where 
the Blessed Sacrament is to remain till the morrow. 
The ' Agnus Dei' is not said, nor is the ldss of peace 
given. When the Celebrant has received the Commu- 
nion of the Precious Blood, he places the unconsumed 
Host, with the assistance of the Deacon, in a chalice 
other than that which has been used in the Mass, and 
covers it with a pall and inverted paten, over which is 
thrown a veil of silk or cloth-of-gold. 

The Deacon, having assisted the Celebrant in *r- 
ranging the Chalice for the Altar of reservation, unco- 
vers the Ciborium, and proceeds to sing the ' Confiteor,' 
after which the Celebrant says the two prayers of abso- 
lution. The Deacon then returns, and with the Sub- 
deacon receives the Holy Communion first of all. It is 
then administered to the Clergy present (those who are 
Priests wearing stoles), and afterwards to the laity.'"* 

* It is the intention cf the Church that a general Communion 
cf the Faithful should take place during the Mass of this day, in 

memory of Christ having distributed His Sacred Body and Blood 



HOLY THURSDAY. 31 

At the conclusion of the Mass. the Celebrant ex- 
changes his chasuble for a cope, and proceeds to the 
foot of the Altar. At the same time a baldacchino or 
canopy is brought to the entrance of the Sanctuary, 
borne by Priests, Laics of high rank, or members of the 
Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament, accompanied 
by attendants bearing lights. The Priest, having put 
incense into the thuribles, incenses the Blessed Sacra- 
ment in the chalice on the Altar, and then receives It 
on his knees from the hands of the Deacon, the Irymn 
' Pange lingua 5 being immediately intoned. The Priest 
then bears the Blessed Sacrament under the canopy in 



to His Apostles at His last supper, though, on account of the late 
hoar at which the Mass is often celebrated in this country, the 
practice has grown up of giving Communion out of Mass at an 
earlier hour. Since, however, it is desired in this work to repre- 
sent the normal as well as the actual practice of the Church, and 
since in Collegiate and some other churches such normal practice 
prevails among us, it has been considered best to describe it. 

It may be well in this place to make tw r o observations with 
the view of meeting objections often urged by ill-informed per- 
sons against matters of Catholic institution or practice. It is 
commonly said that the Church denies the Chalice to the Laity, 
as if she reserved it in some jealous or exclusive spirit to the 
Clergy. But the fact is, as may be known to any one present at 
the general Communion on Holy Thursday, that Priests who go 
to Communion, as w r ell as all other persons, receive under one 
Species alone. The distinction is not between the Priests and the 
Laity, but between the Celebrant at Mass and all other persons, 
whether Priests or not. Again, those strangers to the Church, 
who attend High Mass only, often go away with the impression 
that Catholics do not frequently go to Communion, because they 
do not communicate at High Mass, except on Holy Thursday, 
and some other rare occasions ; the fact being that, as a strict na- 
tural fast is a necessary condition of receiving the Holy Commu- 
nion, the Faithful, according to a practice w r hich admits but of 
few exceptions, go to Communion at early Low Masses. Thus, 
on Easter Sunday, for instance, several hundred persons have 
already received the Communion at an earlier hour, in those 
larger churches which are most frequently visited at the High 
Mass on that great festival by non- Catholics, who are seldom 
present in our churches at other times. The same is true of all 
Catholic churches, in proportion to the numbers who are attached 
to them. 



32 CATHOLIC WORSHIP. 

procession to the Altar of Repose, the choir continuing 
the hymn, and two or more thurifers incensing the path 
of the Blessed Sacrament with their faces towards It. 
When the procession has reached the Altar of the re- 
servation, the Deacon receives from him the Blessed 
Sacrament, and places It in the Ark, the Priest incensing 
It before the ark is closed. "When the ark has been 
locked, the procession returns, without the canopy, to 
the High Altar, where the choir remain to chant the 
Vespers of the day, which the officiating Priest says at 
the same time with his Ministers in the Sacristy. To- 
wards the close of the public Vespers, the officiating 
Priest, accompanied by the Deacon, both habited in 
purple stoles, and attended by clerks, proceeds to strip 
the High Altar, and other Altars of the church, while 
the choir chants the 21st Psalm, in which occur the 
words, ' They have divided My garments amongst them, 
and upon My vesture they have cast lots.' Should the 
Blessed Sacrament have remained at the High Altai- 
after the Mass, a Priest will previously have removed 
It. The Holy Water is likewise removed from the 
church, and not restored till Holy Saturday. 

The great attraction in the church during the re- 
mainder of this day will be the Sepulchre or Altar of 
Repose, at which the Most Holy Sacrament is reserved 
till the morrow, for the loving adoration of those who 
seek by their devotion to make reparation for the indig- 
nities of the Passion. This thought has been illustrated 
in some lines of poetiy which the author may be par- 
doned for introducing in connection with these more 
technical details :' :: * 

The notes of joy have died away, 

, Sweet bell and organ shrill, 
As gather round the Light of Day 
The cloud 3 of coming ill. 

* Lyra Liturg lea : Holy Thursday. (Burns.) 



HOLY THURSDAY. 33 

The Feast is o'er, and Thou art fain 

Thy Passion to begin ; 
And Judas covenants for gain 

To work his Work of sin. 

The ruffian hands his call await, 
With staff, and sword, and lance; 

And now they near the garden-gate, 
And stealthily advance. 

I hear the armour's sullen clash 

Break on the stilly night ; 
I see the torches' lurid flash 

Flouting the pale moonlight. 

Sweet Saviour ! 'tis the time for us 

To rally round Thy throne ; 
The rebel world may treat Thee thus. 

But we are still Thine own. 

Then come, ye servants of the Lord, 

And reverently bring 
The choicest of your sacred hoard 

To grace your glorious King. 

The air that floats around His head 

With odorous clouds imbue ; 
The ground that feels Flis sov'reign tread 

With flowers of spring bestrew. 

Let guards His royal path escort, 

Let warning lights be there ; 
But not the traitor's fell cohort — - 

But not the torches' glare. 

Come, ye choirs, your voices raise 

As He is borne on high ; 
And drown with notes of Christian p^iise 

The rabble's furious cry. 

D 



£4 CATHOLIC WORSHIP. 

So let us "bring Him home, and then? 

Our meek devotion pay ; 
And travel o'er, in faith and prayer, 

That bitter night and day ; 

Nor share the blame those slumbering three 

On heedless watchers drew : 
4 Could ye not wake one hour with Me, 

Who bear the Cross for you ?'* 

TJie Consecration of the Oils. 

On Holy Thursday in each year the Bishop of the 
diocese consecrates the Sacramental Oils for the use of 
the Church. This solemn ceremony takes place during 
the High Mass of the day in the Cathedral Church, or 
elsewhere, according to the choice of the Diocesan* 
The Holy Oils are three in number: viz. the Chrism, 
the Baptismal Oil (or Oil of the Catechumens), and the 
Oil of the Sick. 

The oils are prepared in the Sacristy in three large 
vessels of silver, or plated metal (that for the Chrism 
being the largest of the three), covered with veils, which, 
in the case of the oil for the Chrism, should be white, 
while those of the other vessels are of some other col- 
our. The Rubric requires the presence, at the Conse- 
cration of the Oils, of twelve Priests, seven Deacons, 
and seven Subdeacons, besides other ministers, and those 
officially engaged in the Mass. The Priests, Deacons, 
and Subdeacons are to wear the vestments of their re- 
spective orders In the Sanctuary is prepared for the 
Consecration of the Oils a table covered with a white 
linen cloth, near which are placed benches for the Priests 
and Sacred Ministers assisting at the ceremony. The 
High Mass is celebrated by the Bishop, and proceeds 
as usual up to the words ' Per quern hsec omnia' imme- 
diately before the Paternoster. The Bishop then de- 
* The last stanza is additional. 



nOLY THURSDAY. 35 

scencls from the Altar, after mating his reverence to 
the Blessed Sacrament there present, and washes his 
fingers at the Epistle corner, over an empty chalice, of 
course without receiving the ablution. He then goes 
to the table already mentioned, and takes his seat at it, 
with his face towards the Altar. The principal Deacon 
then says aloud the words, ' Oleum Infirmorum ;' where- 
upon one of the seven Subdeacons goes between two 
Acolyths to the Sacristy, and returns bearing the ves- 
sel of Oil for the Sick, which he delivers into the hands 
of the Archdeacon, saying the words, ' Oleum Infirmo- 
rum.' The Archdeacon then presents the vessel to the 
Bishop with the same words. The Bishop then exor- 
cises, and afterwards blesses, the oil, according to a pre- 
scribed form of words. The consecrated oil is then 
removed, and the Bishop, after washing his hands, re- 
turns to the Altar, where he continues the Mass till the 
Ablutions, receiving with the others that which, had re- 
mained after the previous washing of his fingers over 
the chalice. He then adores the Blessed Sacrament 
reserved for the next day, and returns to his seat at 
the table for the consecration of the remaining oils. 
The Archdeacon then asks, as before, for the oil which 
is to be blessed for the Chrism, and that of the Cate- 
chumens ; and the Bishop having put incense into the 
thurible, a procession is formed to the Sacristy, consist- 
ing of all the assisting Priests, Deacons, Subdeacons, 
and other Ministers, and preceded by the thurifer, and 
the Cross carried by a Subdeacon between two Acolyths 
with lighted candles. All proceed to the Sacristy, where 
two Deacons receive the vessels of oil to be consecrated, 
and return, bearing them under linen humeral veils. 
They are preceded by a Subdeacon, with the balsam to 
be infused in the Clirism, and two chanters singing the 
verses of the hymn, ' O Reclemptor,' alternately with 
the choir. When the procession has returned, the 
Priests, Deacons, Subdeacons, and others arrange them- 



oft CATHOLIC WORSHIP. 

selves in order ; the Priests as cooperators in the con- 
secration, the others as witnesses or assistants. Then 
the Deacon, hearing the oil for the Chrism, delivers it 
to the Archdeacon, and he to the Bishop. The Bishop 
then hlesses the balsam. He then mixes a portion of 
the oil vvith the balsam. He afterwards breathes upon 
the oil in the form of a cross ; and the same is done by 
each Priest present in succession. The breathing over 
objects is a ceremony frequently used in solemn bene- 
dictions, and is an imitation of our Blessed Lord's ac- 
tion, as when He breathed upon the Apostles, who 
immediately received the Holy Ghost. The Bishop 
then exorcises and blesses the Chrism; after which he 
sings the Preface, concluding it with words in a low 
but audible tone of voice. Pie afterwards mixes the 
paste of balsam and oil with the rest of the oil, and 
then salutes, on his knees, the Chrism with the words, 
' Hail, holy Chrism !' which he repeats a second and 
third time, each time in a higher tone of voice, and 
then kisses the edge of the vessel. The same saluta- 
tion, with the same ceremonies, is then made by each 
of the Priests present in succession. 

The consecration of the Chrism being ended, the 
Bishop proceeds to consecrate the oil of the Catechu- 
mens with the same ceremonies, excepting that no Pre- 
face is sung, and that balsam is not infused into the oil. 
The two vessels of consecrated oil are then borne back 
to the Sacristy with the same ceremonies as before, and 
the Bishop, having washed his hands, returns to the 
Altar, and concludes the Mass. The holy oils which 
remain from the preceding year are consumed in the 
lamp which burns before the Blessed Sacrament, and 
the newly-consecrated oils are alone used, during the 
year following, in the various rites into which Unction 
is introduced, whether as the matter of the Sacrament, 
or as complementary to it. 

It will thus have appeared with what extraordinary 



HOLY THURSDAY. 37 



marks of reverence the Church accompanies the Conse- 
cration of the Holy Oils. Her practice in this respect 
is intended to guide both her Priests and people as to 
the light in which the Holy Oils are to be regarded, and 
the reverence with which they are to be treated and 
used. Nor, when we consider, on the one hand, the 
exalted nature of the purposes to which the Holy Oils 
are applied, and, on the other, the facility with which 
irreverence about holy things creeps in, can we wonder 
that the Church should have invested this act of Bene- 
diction with circumstances of such unusual majesty and 
solemnity. 

The several Holy Oils are used on the following 
occasions : the Chrism, in the ceremonies of Baptism, 
as well as in the preparation of the Baptismal Water, 
in Confirmation, at the Consecration of a Bishop, and 
likewise of Churches, Altars, and Chalices. It is also 
used in the Consecration of Church Bells. The Oil of 
the Catechumens is used in the ceremonies of Baptism, 
in the preparation of the Baptismal Water, at the Or- 
dination of Priests, and the Coronation of Sovereigns. 
The Oil of the Sick is the sacramental matter of Ex- 
treme Unction, and is also used in the blessing of 
Church Bells."' 

The various uses of the Holy Oils, as well as the 
principal practices in the ceremony of their consecra- 
tion, are described in the following stanzas : 

Our Lord is prodigal of gifts to-day, 

His mercies with His steps harmonious move ; 
Or if He pause, He pauses to display 

New signs of power, new miracles of love. 
Twice, ere the Bite of rites be yet complete, 

Lo, where the mitred Celebrant descends 
To bless, with holy words and actions meet, 

The oil of gladness to its destin'd ends ! 

* The reason appear? to be, that the church bell is supposed 
to be tolled when the soul is passing from the body. 



38 CATHOLIC WORSHIP. 

And while eacli wliite-rob'cl priest in order pays 
Glad homage to the source of health divine, 

Our grateful hearts shall echo forth the praise, 
And in the Church's world-wide ' Ave' join. 

Hail, holy Oil !* thou sweet and sovereign balm ! 

Matter of that Last Sacrament whence flow 
The sure relief and placid holy calm 

That settle oft on languor's anxious brow ; 

At whose soft touch and merciful Avaunt 

Death halts abash'd, and drops his ready arms 

And Angels haste to guard their favour'd haunt 
From sin's approach, or terror's vain alarms. 

Yea, e'en the tones of that heart-piercing bell. 
Whose echoes ring of death, hj thee are \)}e-t, 

And, tun'd by Christian hope, to mourners tell 
Of friends or passed, or passing, to their rest. 

Hail, holy Oil !f that, ere baptismal streams 

Have blanch'd the marks of sin's deforming trace, 

Pour'st on the darken'd heart the twilight gleams 
That pledge the sunshine of converting grace. 

Yet nam'd art thou in loftier ministries ; 

Strength of the hands that consecrate or bless ; 
Whose unction health to Priests and Kings supplies 

In duty's need or empire's harrowing stress. 

Hail, holy Chrism ! which, like the voice from heaven 
That once the Son on Jordan's bank reveal'd, 

Art God's own signal of adoption giv'n 

To those whom in His Name the Church hath 
seal'cl ; 

* The Oil of the Sick. 

t The Oil of the Catechumens. 



EIOLY THURSDAY. 39 

And whom, when rip'ning now for manhood's race, 
With sev'nfold strength that Mother's arm endows, 

Fain by thine aid the character to trace 

Of Christ's own soldier on their youthful brows. 

With thee she claims to God each holy place 
And vessel wrought for Eucharist sublime, 

And nerves the Pontiff with his crowning grace, 

And gifts with heav'nward voice the belfry's chime. 

Bear off, ye vested guards, your sacred store, 
B}* blessing hallow'd, and with blessings rife ; 

Whence from a hundred founts the tide shall pour 
Whose streams refresh the Church's yearly life.* . 

The Washing of the Feet. 

In Cathedral Churches, or others which may be se- 
lected for the purpose, it is customary for the Bishop of 
each Diocese, or the local Superior, to perform, in the 
afternoon of Holy Thursday, the ceremony of washing 
the feet of thirteen poor men, in imitation of the exam- 
ple set and proposed by our Blessed Lord at the Last 
Supper. The ceremony is as follows : the Bishop, vested 
in a purple cope, and attended by a Deacon and Sub- 
deacon, vested in white, proceeds from the Sacristy in 
the usual order to the part of the* church appointed for 
the ceremony. All having made the proper rever- 
ences, the Gospel appropriate to the occasion is sung 
by the Deacon as at High Mass. The Bishop is then 
divested of his cope, and girded with a linen towel of 
apron, after which he proceeds to wash the right foot or 
thirteen poor men seated on a bench, and wipe them 
with a linen towel, giving an alms to each. The choir in 
the mean time sing certain prescribed Antiphons. The 
Washing of the Feet being ended, the Bishop washes 

* Lyra Liturgica : Holy Thursday 



40 CATHOLIC WORSHIP. 

Lis hands, and, being revested with a cope, sings the 
appointed prayer at the Epistle corner of the Altar, after 
which all retire in the order in which they entered. 

VII. 

GOOD FEIDAY. 

The Office of this clay is peculiar, and singularly ex- 
pressive of its mournful subject. The High Altar and 
Sanctuary are completely divested of every ornament ; 
and even the Altar-cloth is removed till the Office has 
begun. The Priest and his Ministers, vested in black,'"' 
and preceded by a procession of Clerics, but without 
Cross, lights, or incense, enter the Sanctuary, where 
Priest, Deacon, and Subdeacon prostrate at the foot of 
the Altar, and remain in that posture for a certain 
space of time, the other attendants all kneeling. During 
the prostration the Acolyths take the Altar-cloth from 
the credence-table, bear it over the heads of the Priest 
and Sacred Ministers, and place it on the Altar. The 
Master of Ceremonies then removes the Missal from 
the credence-table to the Epistle side of the Altar. The 
Priest and Sacred Ministers having gone up to the Altar, 
pass to the Epistle side, where the Priest reads a short 
Lesson, which is at the same time sung by a Cleric. 
The Priest afterwards sings the Collect, and says the 
Epistle, which is sung by the Subdeacon. The Priest 
then says the Tract, which is sung by the choir ; and 
towards the close of it three Deacons enter the Sanc- 
tuary to sing the Passion, with the same ceremonies as 
on Palm Sunday, excepting that the Deacons wear black 
instead of purple stoles and maniples. The Gospel is 
afterwards sung by the ordinary Deacon, but without 
lights and incense ; neither is the usual Benediction 
given by the Priest to the Deacon, nor does the Sub- 

* The Sacred Ministers wear black folded chasubles ; or, at 
any rate, not dalmatic and tunic. 



GOOD FRIDAY. 41 

deacon carry the Book of the Gospel for the Priest to 
kiss the first words of the text. 

The Gospel over, the Priest proceeds to sing, at the 
Epistle corner of the Altar, the prayers for different 
estates of men, which will be found in the Missal. Each 
prayer is preceded by an invitation to pray for those 
who are the objects of it; and this invitation is followed 
by one made by the Deacon to bend the knee, after 
which the Subdeacon responds ' Arise.' There is, how- 
ever, one exception to this latter address, which is in 
the case of the Prayer for the Jews ; and the reason as- 
signed for this exception is, that the Church refuses to 
perform in their regard an action which they desecrated 
by employing it in mockery of our Blessed Lord during 
the time of His Passion. 

The prayers over, the Master of Ceremonies takes 
down the Crucifix from its place above the Altar, and 
the Priest, going to the Epistle corner, uncovers the 
top of the Cross, and, exhibiting it to the people, sings 
in a low tone the words ' Ecce lignum Crucis,' &c. &c, 
which will be found in the Missal, and which are con- 
tinued by some of the choir, all kneeling at the words 
' Venite adoremus;' the Priest then ascends the step, 
and, standing at the Epistle corner of the Altar, un- 
covers the right arm of the figure, and exhibits it as be- 
fore, singing the same words in a somewhat higher tone, 
which the choir continues as before. He then advances 
to the middle of the Altar, where he uncovers and ex- 
hibits the whole figure, singing the same words in a still 
higher tone. At the same moment all the Crosses in 
the church are uncovered. The Crucifix is then placed 
by the Deacon on a cushion at the foot of the Altar for 
the adoration of the Clergy and people. It is first adored 
by the Priest and Sacred Ministers, who approach it 
without their exterior vestments and without shoes. 
The Clergy follow, and then the people. Those who 
approach the Cross go down three times on their knees ; 



42 CATHOLIC WORSHIP. 

the last time at the foot of the Cross itself. They salute 
the feet, and, after once more kneeling, retire. In some 
churches it is customary to place a clish by the side of 
the Cross for the reception of alms. Where the numbers 
in the church are large, another Cross may be presented 
for adoration by a Priest in some convenient part of the 
church. While the Adoration of the Cross is going on, 
the choir sings the Heproach.es, which will be found in 
the Missal ; and the Priest and his Ministers say them, 
with all else which is prescribed, at the Sedilia. 

The Adoration of the Cross being over, the Deacon 
goes, accompanied by the Master of Ceremonies, to re-' 
move it and replace it over the Altar. The six large 
candles of the Altar having been lighted, and the cor- 
poral spread on the Altar, a procession is formed, pre- 
ceded by thurifers with their thuribles, but without in- 
cense, and by the Parochial Cross, borne between Aco- 
lyths with lighted candles, and advances to the Altar 
of Repose. Having arrived there, the Deacon unlocks 
the Ark containing the Blessed Sacrament, and opening 
the door of it, descends to assist the Priest in placing 
incense in the thurible. At the same time lighted tapers 
are given to the choir and attendants. The Priest hav- 
ing incensed the Blessed Sacrament, the Deacon takes 
It down and places It in the hands of the Priest, who 
receives It on his knees. It is then borne under the 
canopy in procession to the High Altar, the choir sing- 
ing the hymn ' Vexilla Regis.' On reaching the High 
Altar, the Priest, having placed the chalice containing 
the Blessed Sacrament on the Altar, proceeds to incense 
It on both his knees. The chalice is then divested of 
the veil, and the Sacred Host contained within it trans- 
ferred to the paten; after which wine and water are 
poured into the chalice, and the usual incensation takes 
place, except that the Priest himself is not incensed. 
He then washes his fingers as usual, and going to the 
middle of the Altar says the ' Orate, fratres ;' but on 



GOOD FRIDAY. 43 

account of the presence of the Blessed Sacrament with- 
out turning completely round and without receiving the 
usual response. He then sings the Paternoster ; after 
which he elevates the Sacred Host for adoration, and 
then divides It, and places a portion in the chalice as 
usual. He afterwards receives the Sacred Host, saying, 
however, before Communion the last of the three pre- 
paratory prayers only. He afterwards receives the con- 
tents of the chalice, and having taken the ablutions, 
makes over the chalice to the Subdeacon to be properly 
arranged, and retires from the Altar without saying any 
other words. The choir remains to sing the Vespers, 
as on the preceding day, and the Altar is afterwards 
stripped. 

The purpose of the Church in this marvellously 
beautiful Office is to represent the desolation consequent 
on the death of her Lord. The Office may be said to 
be at once most irregular and most orderly. It consists 
in a series of detached actions, and terminates in one 
which has the semblance without the reality of a Mass. 
It is called the Mass of the Presanctified, consisting as 
it does merely in the consumption of the preconsecrated 
Host, with so much of the usual Office of the Mass only 
as bears upon that act, and is necessary to invest it with 
a becoming dignity. But on the day when the Church 
is absorbed in the contemplation of the Sacrifice of the 
Cross, she suspends for once her daily Oblation of that 
Sacrifice in the form in which her divine Lord has com- 
manded her to commemorate, represent, and apply it. 

In Rome, and in some churches in this country, the 
Devotion called the ' Three Hours' is preached on Good 
Friday in memory of the three hours during which our 
Lord hung upon the Cross. It consists of brief medi- 
tative discourses on the ' Seven Words,' or sayings, of 
our Blessed Lord on the Cross, which are as follows : 
1. ' Father, forgive them, for they know not what they 
do.' 2. ' To-day thou shalt be with Me in Paradise.' 



44 CATHOLIC WORSHIP. 

8. ' Mother, beliold thy son ; — son, behold thy Mother.' 

4. 'My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?' 

5. ' I thirst.' C. ' It is consummated/ 7. ' Father, into 
Thy hands I commend My spirit.' It is usual to occupy 
the interval between the discourses with pieces of illus- 
trative music, to which the rule relating to the exclusion 
of instruments does not apply, as this devotion is no 
part of the Church Office. 

VIII. 

HOLY SATUEDAY. 

Good Friday is a clay of desolation. Even the 
Blessed Sacrament, after the Mass of the Presanctified 
has been celebrated, disappears from the church, or is 
at all events reserved in some chapel which is shut out 
from general observation. The Crucifixes are indeed 
uncovered, but the Altars remain divested of every kind 
of ornament, and even of their usual covering. The 
Tenebra) Office is recited towards evening for the last 
time. The Psalms are shorter than on the preceding- 
evenings, and their character somewhat different. In- 
stead of bringing into prominence the sufferings and 
the indignities of the Passion, their prevailing senti- 
ment is that of rest, since the Passion is now over, and 
the Church wishes to bring before the mind the trans- 
actions of that solemn interval between the ninth hour, 
or three o'clock, on the Friday, when our Lord expired, 
and the dawn of the third day, when He arose from the 
dead. It is therefore not unusual to occupy the evening 
of this day with devotions in honour of our Lady ot 
Dolours, who stands out in strong prominence during 
this interval. In some foreign countries there are pro- 
cessions commemorative of the Burial of our Lord on 
the evening of Good Friday. 

On the morning of Holy Saturday, a slight change 
is perceptible in the aspect of the church. The High 



HOLY SATURDAY. 45 

Altar is once more vested in purple ; and such prepara- 
tions for the High Mass as cannot be expedited in the 
short time which elapses between the end of the Office 
proper to Holy Saturday and the beginning of Mass are 
made at an earlier hour. At the entrance of the church 
or, should the weather permit, on the outside of it pre- 
parations are made for the Benediction of the new lire. 
The Baptistery is also prepared with all that is neces- 
sary for the Benediction of the Font, and presents a 
festive appearance. In addition to the other arrange- 
ments of the Sanctuary, the Paschal Candle is placed 
at the Gospel side of the Altar on its stand, and near it 
a desk for the use of the Deacon who is to sing the 
form of blessing prescribed by the Church. This form, 
from the word with which it commences, is called the 
< Exultet.' 

At the appointed hour, the Priest and Sacred Minis- 
ters advance in procession, preceded by the Parochial 
Cross, and by Clerks, bearing what is necessary for the 
ceremony at the entrance of the church. When all have 
arrived at the place appointed for the blessing of the 
new fire, the Priest recites the preparatory prayer, and 
blesses the fire, which should be struck from a flint. He 
afterwards blesses the incense kindled from the new 
fire, and then the five large grains of it which are after- 
wards to be inserted in the Paschal Candle. This over, 
the Deacon exchanges the purple vestment proper to 
the ceremony of blessing the fire for white, and then re- 
ceives into his hand a rod, at the extremity of which 
are three candles. The procession then advances into 
the church, and, at the entrance of it, the Deacon lights 
from the new fire one of the three candles on the rod, 
and sings, in a low key, the words ' Lumen Christi,' that 
is, the Light of Christ. He is answered by the choir, 
' Deo gratias,' * Thanks be to God.' At «fchese words all 
go down on their knees, except the Cross-bearer. The 
procession then advances, and, when it has reached the 



46 CATHOLIC WORSHIP. 

middle of the church, it halts, and the Deacon sings the 
same words in a higher tone, with the same ceremonies. 
He sings them for the third time when the procession 
reaches the Sanctuary, and then lights the last of the 
three candles on the triple candlestick. 

The object of these beautiful ceremonies seems to be, 
on the one hand, to remind us that the renewal of all 
nature is one of the effects of the Resurrection of our 
Lord ; and, on the other, to console us by suggesting 
that Christ, the Light of the World, has been only ob- 
scured, and is not extinguished by death. This latter 
thought is brought out still more by the Benediction 
of the Paschal Candle which follows ; for the Paschal 
Candle, remaining in the church, as it does, from Holy 
Saturday till Ascension-clay, is evidently intended to 
symbolise the glorified presence of our Lord during the 
forty days of His sojourn on earth after His Resurrec- 
tion. 

"When the procession has reached the Sanctuary, the 
officiating Priest goes to the Epistle corner of the Altar, 
while the Deacon who is to bless the Paschal Candle 
receives the Book of the Gospel, and, after obtaining 
the benediction of the Priest, goes to the desk to sing 
the ' Prseconium,' or announcement of the approach of 
Easter. At certain parts of this magnificent address he 
pauses : first, to insert the fiYe grains of incense into the 
Paschal Candle ; secondly, to light the Paschal Candle 
from the triple candle previously mentioned; and 
thirdly, to allow time for lighting the lamps before the 
High Altar and the other Altars of the church, which 
now begins to present a more jubilant appearance. 
When the blessing of the Paschal Candle is concluded, 
the Deacon re-assumes the purple vestments, and joins 
the Priest at the Altar, together with the Subcleacon. 
The Priest then reads in a low tone of voice the twelve 
Prophecies, or Lessons, of the Old Testament, which 
are at the same time sung by a cleric in the choir ; and 



HOLY SATURDAY. 47 

at the conclusion of each Lesson the Priest sings a 
Collect, preceded by ' Or emus 1 to which the Deacon and 
Subdeacon respectively answer, ' Flectamus genua' (' Let 
us bend the knee'), and ' Levate' ('Arise'); and the 
summons, in each case, is obeyed by the choir and peo- 
ple. At the last of the twelve lessons, which describes 
Nabuchodonosor's act of idolatry, the invitation to kneel 
is not given, as if in abhorrence of that profane decree. 
Alter three of the Prophecies, short canticles from the 
Old Testament are sung. The intention of the Church 
in appointing the recitation of these ancient prophecies 
appears to have been originally that of providing in- 
struction for the catechumens, who used to receive 
baptism on this day. 

When the Prophecies are concluded, the Priest and 
his Ministers go in procession to bless the Baptismal 
Font. The Paschal Candle is borne at the head of the 
procession before the Cross. During the procession the 
choir sings the beautiful words of the psalm, ' As the 
hart panteth after the fountains,' &c. When the Priest 
reaches the Baptistery he sings at the entrance the pre- 
scribed prayer, after which he goes to the Font and sings 
that wonderful Preface in which the great doctrine of 
Regeneration in baptism is so copiously illustrated by 
the types of the Old Law, and the words of our Blessed 
Lord. At certain parts of the Preface he pauses to per- 
form the actions prescribed for the blessing of the water, 
one of which is the triple immersion of the Paschal 
Candle, and finally infuses into it, first, the holy Oil of 
the Catechumens ; secondly, the holy Chrism ; and 
lastly, both of these holy Oils together. Previously to 
the infusion of the Oils, the people are sprinkled by one 
of the Priests present with the blessed water. The cere- 
mony being concluded, and the officiating Priest having 
purified his hands from the portions of the holy Oils 
which may have adhered to them, the procession re- 
turns to the High Altar. As soon as it leaves the Bap- 



48 CATHOLIC WORSHIP. 

tistery, or (according to the practice of some churches) 
when it reaches the High Altar, the chanters begin the 
Litanies of the Saints, all the petitions of which, on this 
occasion only, are recited entire both by the chanters 
and respondents. When the officiating Priest and his 
Ministers reach the Altar, they prostrate at its foot, 
and remain in that posture till the word ' Peccatores' in 
the Litanies has been uttered, the other attendants all 
kneeling.* At the word 'Peccatores,' the Priest and 
Sacred Ministers rise and go to the sacristy, while the 
rest remain to continue the Litanies. The Altar is then 
divested of the emblems of mourning, and adorned with 
all the tokens of joy and festivity which the brief inter- 
val admits. The Priest and Sacred Ministers then re- 
enter the church in the richest vestments of white or 
gold, preceded by the acolyths with lighted candles and 
the other attendants. The choir then sings the ' Kyrie 
eleison,' at the end of the Litanies, to serve as the be- 
ginning of the Mass. The Celebrant, having recited 
the several portions of the Mass to the end of the Kyrie, 
and incensed the Altar as usual, intones the ' Gloria in 
excelsis.' As soon as he has pronounced those words, 
the interior and exterior bells of the church are rung, 
the organ strikes up, and continues to play, and the 
bells to ring, whilst the Celebrant recites the ' Gloria.' 
When he has concluded it, the Sanctuary bell ceases, 
but the outer bells of the church may continue to ring 
till the music of the ' Gloria' is ended. At Rome, and 
in some Catholic countries, a salvo of artillery is fired 
at the announcement of the ' Gloria.' At the same mo- 
ment all pictures and images in the church are divested 
of their mournful drapery. When the Collect and 

* This may be a suitable occasion for observing, that prostra- 
tion is always, according to the rule of the Church, a posture of 
personal humiliation, and not adoration. Hence it is incorrect 
ro prostrate at Benediction or other Expositions of the Most Holy 
Sacrament. 



PASCHAL-TIDE. 49 

Epistle have been sung, the Celebrant gives out tlirice, 
and each time in a higher pitch, the word Alleluia. 
which is taken up in the same tones by the choir. When 
a Bishop celebrates this Mass, he is addressed, before 
giving out the Alleluia, in words of which the following 
is a translation : ' Most Reverend Father, I announce 
to you a great joy, which is, Alleluia.' The Mass then 
proceeds to the end of the Gospel, after which the Cele- 
brant, omitting tme Credo, proceeds to the Offertory, 
and continues, as usual, to the words ' Pax Domini ;' 
the ' Agnus Dei' is omitted, and the kiss of peace not 
given, perhaps because the Church now, as on Holy 
Thursday, avoids any reference to an act of salutation 
which was desecrated by the Traitor. After the Cele- 
brant has received the Holy Communion, and admin- 
istered it to any who may desire to communicate, and 
when he has taken the usual ablutions, the Vespers of 
the day are sung, beginning with the short Psalm, 
'Laudate Dominum omnes gentes' (cxvi.). The Magni- 
ficat is then sung with its proper antiphon, and the 
Altar, Priest, and Choir incensed as usual. At the end 
of the Mass, ' Ite missa est' is sung, with the addition of 
two Alleluias, to a tone peculiar to Easter week. 



IX. 

PASCHAL-TIDE. 

The more immediate and joyous celebration of Easter 
is confined to the first week, which presents some spe- 
cial features as compared even with the rest of Paschal- 
tide. One of these is the addition of two Alleluias to 
the ' Ite missa est' at Mass, and to the ' Benedicamus 
Domino' of Lauds and Vespers, as well as to the re- 
sponse following both. Another is the Sequence in the 
Mass ' Victims Paschali,' and the Gradual ' Haec dies,' 
which verse is also introduced throughout ' the Offices' 

E 



50 CATHOLIC WORSHIP. 

of tlie week, in the place of the usual capitulum and 
hymn. 

The peculiarities of the Paschal-time are the follow- 
ing : 1. The more frequent use of Alleluias in the Mass 
and Office. 2. The substitution of the 'Yicli aquam' 
for the ' Asperges.' 3. The use of the ' Regina Coeli' at 
the end of Lauds and Complin, and the practice of 
standing as a token of alacrity and joy during the reci- 
tation of this hymn, even on week-clays, when it is cus- 
tomary to kneel at the Hymn of the Blessed Virgin at 
the other three seasons of the year. 4. The use of a 
special Mass and Office for Martyrs. 5. The presence 
of the Paschal Candle in the Sanctuary till the Gospel 
in the High Mass of Ascension-day ; after which it is 
extinguished and removed. The Paschal Candle is 
lighted at all solemn Offices, except at High Masses of 
the Dead, and except also (unless the contrary usage 
prevails) at the High Mass which follows the Litanies 
on the Feast of St. Mark and the Rogation-days. 6. 
The recitation of the Litanies of the Saints on St. Mark's 
Day (April 25), even when the celebration of that feast 
is transferred, and on the three Rogation-days imme- 
diately preceding the Feast of the Ascension. 



PART IV. 
Ssbottonal $racttc*s of ti)t QL$uvrf). 



I. 

INDULGENCES. 



This little work would be incomplete if I did not 
prefix to this portion of the subject a few words on the 
subject of Indulgences. An Indulgence is a remission 
of the temporal penalty of sins, the eternal penalty of 



INDULGENCES. 51 

which is remitted in the Sacrament of Penance. This 
doctrine on the true nature of Indulgences must always 
be borne in mind as a reply to the objections of heretics 
and ignorant persons, and as an explanation of any 
language which may be employed by Catholics in refer- 
ence to them. A Plenary Indulgence is usually inter- 
preted to mean a remission of the whole temporal pen- 
alty due to sin ; a partial Indulgence is the remission 
of such a portion of that penalty as corresponds with 
the periods of penance appointed in the early ages. The 
usual conditions of a Plenary Indulgence are, the worthy 
reception of the Sacraments of Penance and the Blessed 
Eucharist, and prayers for the intentions of the Sove- 
reign Pontiff — that is to say, peace and concord among 
Christian princes, the extirpation of heresy, and the 
exaltation of our holy Mother the Church. For gain- 
ing a partial Indulgence the reception of the fore-men- 
tioned Sacraments is not necessary; but no Indulgence 
can be gained except by such Christians as are in a 
state of grace — i.e. free from mortal sin; and it is the 
more common opinion of spiritual writers, that Plenary 
Indulgences require, in order to gain them, an amount 
of perfection in the mode of performing their conditions 
which is by no means common. Devout and humble 
Catholics, however, who feel the weight of their sins, 
and the insufficiency of their penance, will always be 
glad to embrace the opportunity of gaining such spiri- 
tual favours to the best of their ability. Plenary In- 
dulgences, applicable to the souls in Purgatory, can 
either be gained by the person wdio performs their con- 
ditions for him or herself, or can be applied to the de- 
parted souls in general, or to any particular soul wdiosc 
benefit is desired, but cannot be gained vicariously for 
another living person. When applied for the benefit of 
the dead, they are said, in the language of theology, to 
avail ' by w T ay of suffrage,' or in other words, to be offered 
to God in order to be applied according to His sovereign 



O'Z CATHOLIC WORSHIP. 

Will ; but with a prayer that He would be pleased to 
apply them according to the special intention of the 
person who so offers them. It is necessary towards 
gaining an Indulgence to have at least the intention of 
gaining it ; but this intention need not be formed on 
each particular occasion, provided it be renewed from 
time to time, so as to be an habitual disposition of the 
mind. It is the pious practice of many Catholics to 
form every morning the intention of gaining all the In- 
dulgences which may be attached to practices they may 
perform during the day. 

II. 

THE STATIONS OF THE CROSS. 

The Devotion of the Stations is a pious method of 
commemorating the Passion of our Blessed Saviour. It 
has been already stated that among the objects which 
are most commonly met with in the interior of our 
churches, are the fourteen representations of our Lord's 
sorrowful progress to Calvary, and of His Crucifixion, 
with the events immediately subsequent to it. The 
Devotion of the Stations consists in visiting each of 
these pictures in their proper order, beginning with the 
first, which represents our Lord's Condemnation, and 
ending with the fourteenth, which represents His Bu- 
rial. The Stations are as follows : 1. Our Lord is con- 
demned to death. 2. He takes up the Cross. 3. He 
falls the first time. 4. He meets His Most Holy Mo- 
ther. 5. He is assisted in bearing His Cross by Simon 
of Cyrene. 6. He is met by St. Veronica. 7. He falls 
a second time. 8. He meets the holy women of Jeru- 
salem. 9. He falls the third time. 10. He is stripped 
of His garments, and has gall given Him to drink. 11. 
He is nailed to the Cross. 12. He dies on the Cross. 
13. He is taken down from the Cross. 14. He is buried. 

When the Devotion of the Stations is publicly per- 



THE STATIONS OF THE CROSS. 53 

formed, the Priest, vested in surplice and purple stole, 
preceded by the Cross between acolyths bearing lighted 
candles, goes to one of the Altars, and there recites the 
Act of Contrition with the people. He afterwards pro- 
ceeds to the different Stations in succession, the people 
singing on the way from one Station to another a stanza 
of the ' Stabat Mater,' or other appropriate hymn. 
When the Priest comes to each Station, he first says 
the versicle, ' We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise 
Thee,' and is answered, ' Because by Thy holy Cross 
Thou hast redeemed the world ;' then he reads a short 
meditation on the subject before him, and after wards 
recites the ' Our Father,' the ' Hail Mary,' and ' Glory 
be to the Father.' The people genuflect at the versicle, 
stand at the meditation, and kneel at the prayers. When 
all the Stations have been visited, the Priest returns to 
the Altar, sa3 r s some prayers for the intentions of the 
Pope, and blesses the people with the Crucifix. 

The Stations are often made privately by devout 
persons. Very ample Indulgences have been attached 
to this pious practice, but for the gaining of these it is 
necessary that all the Stations should be visited, by 
going from one to another, or at least, where this cannot 
be done, by turning the body in the direction of each. 
The Pope, and those to whom his Holiness may be 
pleased to impart the same privilege, have power to 
bless Crosses with annexation of these Indulgences for 
the use of devout persons who, whether by illness, im- 
prisonment, or any unavoidable hindrance, are pre- 
vented from making the Stations of the Cross in a church 
or other sacred place. 

The erection of the Stations in a church, cemetery, 
or elsewhere, requires a faculty, or permission from au- 
thority. The devotion grew out of the ancient practice 
of visiting the Holy Places in Palestine, and enjoys the 
benefit of the same Indulgences as belonged to the pil- 
grimages of which it forms the modern substitute. 



54 CATHOLIC WORSHIP. 

III. 

THE ANGELUS. 

The Angelas is an indulgenced practice of devotion 
to be performed three times a day, at the sound of a bell 
which is rung from the steeple of all Catholic churches. 
Where no church with a bell is near, the notice for the 
Angelus may be given by a bell in a house. The usual 
hours for ringing the Angelus are six in the morning, 
twelve at noon, and six in the evening ; but at Rome, 
the morning and evening hours are regulated by the ris- 
ing and setting of the sun. The devotion consists in 
the recitation of three ' Hail Maries' (each preceded by 
a versicle and response), at the close of which is said 
the prayer of the Blessed Virgin which follows the hymn 
proper to Advent. The Devotion of the Angelus is a 
repeated commemoration of the Incarnation of our Lord, 
and of the sacred Maternity of the Blessed Virgin. There 
is a separate Indulgence for adding three ' Gloria Patris' 
to the Angelas. 

During Paschal-tide it is customary to say the ' Ite- 
gina Coeli' instead of the Angelus. The Regina Cceli is 
always said standing ; the Angelus kneeling, except on 
Sundays. 

It is also prescribed that a bell should be rung in 
commemoration of the dead one hour after the evening 
Angelus, and another on Fridays in commemoration of 
our Lord's Death three hours before it. But these prac- 
tices are not as yet commonly introduced into England. 

IV. 

THE ROSARY. 

The Rosary is a popular devotion of the Church, 
first used by Saint Dominic in combating the heresies 
of his time. It consists of fifteen meditations upon Mys- 



THE ROSARY. 00 

teries of the Faith, during each of which are recited one 
Our Father, ten Hail Maries, and one Gloria Patri. 
The fifteen Mysteries are divided into three portions, 
consisting of five each, and called respectively the Joy- 
ful, the Sorrowful, and the Glorious Mysteries. When 
these portions are recited separately, the Joyful are ap- 
pointed for Mondays and Thursdays, the Sorrowful for 
Tuesdays and Fridays, and the Glorious for Wednes- 
days and Saturdays. The Joyful Mysteries may also 
be said on the Sundays beginning with the first Sunday 
in Advent and ending on the last Sunday before Lent ; 
the Sorrowful Mysteries on the Sundays in Lent ; and 
the Glorious Mysteries between Easter and Advent. 
The Joyful Mysteries are as follows : 1. the Annuncia- 
tion; 2. the Visitation ; 3. the Nativity; 4. the Purifi- 
cation ; 5. the Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple. 
The Sorrowful Mysteries are : 1. the Agony in the Gar- 
den; 2. the Scourging; 3. the Crowning with thorns: 
4. the Carrying of the Cross ; 5. the Crucifixion. The 
Glorious are : 1. the Resurrection ; 2. the Ascension ; 
3. the Descent of the Holy Spirit ; 4. the Assumption of 
the Blessed Virgin; 5. the Coronation of the Blessed 
Virgin. The Rosary is said upon a string of beads, 
called by the same name, and so arranged as to admit 
of one ' I believe' and three ' Gloria J^atris' being said at 
the beginning of each division or set of five Mysteries. 
These introductory prayers, however, form no part of 
the Rosary properly so called, which consists of one 
' Our Father,' ten ' Hail Maries,' and one ' Gloria Patri 1 
for each Mystery. It is usual, when the Rosary is said 
in public, to call the several Mysteries to mind by a few 
preliminary words. When the Rosary is said with 
others, the person saying it (who need not be even a 
Cleric) recites half of each prayer, the rest reciting the 
other half, and beginning the prayers alternately with 
lrim, so that every other time he will recite the second 
half of the prayer. 



56 CATHOLIC WORSHIP. 



THE jUONTH OF MARY. 

According to the universal practice of the Church, 
the month of May is dedicated to the honour of the 
Blessed Virgin, and pious persons are in the habit of 
marking each day of it by some special devotion to her. 
These devotions are frequently accompanied by hymns 
or canticles in the vernacular. A partial Indulgence 
can be gained on each day of the month by those who 
observe this practice, whether in public or in private, 
and a Plenary Indulgence on the usual conditions b} r 
those who follow it every day. The Litany of Loreto is 
frequently sung in procession during the month of Mary, 
as well as at other times. It is sung on the knees as 
far as the words ' Sancta Maria,' at which the proces- 
sion begins to move ; on its return to the Altar, the 
4 Agnus Dei' is sung, followed by the usual versicle and 
response, and the prayer, which is always that begin- 
ning ' Concede nos,' excepting during Advent and Christ 
mas, when the prayers proper to those seasons are sub 
stituted. An image of our Lady is often borne in these 
processions. 

VI. 

, OTHER POPULAR DEVOTIONS. 

There are many public Devotions approved by the 
Church, besides those already mentioned ; but as they 
do not involve any special forms in their use, they do 
not require particular notice in this work. Among those 
which are most general may be mentioned the Devo- 
tions to the Blessed Sacrament, to the Sacred Heart of 
Jesus, to His Most Precious Blood, to His Five Wounds, 
to the Holy and Immaculate Heart of Mary, and to the 
Seven Dolours. 

The reader is directed to the English translation of the Roman 
Raccolia (published by Messrs. Burns and Oates) for the most 
approved Catholic Devotions, with the Indulgences attached to 
the use of them by successive Sovereign Pontiffs. 



APPENDIX, 



<G)rcas tonal <&f&tzz of tfje Cfjurc*). 



I. 

BAPTISM OF INFANTS. 

Infants are always baptised in the church of the paro- 
chial district in which they are born, excepting in the 
case of dangerous illness, or by the special permission 
of the Bishop. Parents are admonished to bring their 
children to the church for Baptism as soon as possible 
after their birth, and incur a grave responsibility by the 
neglect of this rule. Parents cannot themselves be 
sponsors. The public ceremonies of Baptism are not 
essential to the Sacrament, which requires only the use 
of the proper matter and form of words, which must both 
be employed at one and the same time ; but, when pri- 
vate Baptism has been administered without the cere- 
monies, the child, should it live, ought to be brought to 
the church, in order that so much of the rite as had 
been necessarily omitted may be supplied. 

The sponsors are first asked, in the name of the 
child, what they seek at the hands of the Church, and 
are instructed that Faith, in order to lead to eternal 
life, must be accompanied by Obedience to the Com- 
mandments. The Priest then breathes upon the infant, 
and having expelled from it the unclean Spirit, makes 
on its forehead and breast the sign of the Cross. After 



58 CATHOLIC WORSHIP. 

two preliminary prayers, he places salt, previously ex- 
orcised and blessed, in the mouth of the child, saying, 
' iV~. Receive the salt of wisdom ; may it be a propitia- 
tion to thee unto life eternal ! Peace" be with thee. — 
R. And with thy spirit!' The Evil Spirit, which in 
consequence of Original Sin still possesses the soul, is 
afterwards exorcised in the name of the Most Holy 
Trinity, and commanded not to violate the holy sign of 
the Cross, which the Priest then forms on the forehead 
of the child. After a prayer for spiritual illumination, 
the Priest, laying the end of his stole on the child, con- 
ducts it, with the sponsors, from the door of the church, 
at which the earlier portion of the rite is performed, to 
the Baptistery, saying on the way, with the sponsors, 
the Creed and Our Father. When the Priest has reached 
the Baptistery, he again exorcises the Evil Spirit from 
the child, which remains outside in the arms of its 
sponsor ; the Priest next touches the ears and nostrils 
of the child with spittle, in accordance with the prac- 
tice of our Lord, saying the word ' Ephpheta,' that is, 
Be opened; and adds, as he touches the nostrils, 'In 
the odour of sweetness.' He then requires the sponsors, 
in the name of the child, to renounce Satan, with all his 
works and pomps ; after which he anoints the child on 
the breast, and between the shoulders, with the Holy 
Oil of the Catechumens. He then exchanges the purple 
stole, which he had hitherto worn, for a white one, and 
interrogates the child, in the person of its sponsors, on 
the chief articles of the Creed, concluding with the ques- 
tion, ' Wilt thou be baptised ?' whereby the Church sig- 
nifies that Baptism is a voluntary act.- This question 
having been answered in the affirmative, the child is 
brought to the Font, where the Priest baptises it by 
pouring the baptismal water three times on its head, 
taking care that the water touches the flesh of the child, 
and not its hair only. He says, while pouring the water, 
1 N. I baptise thee in the name of the Father, and of 



BAPTISM OF INFANTS. 59 

the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, Amen ;' which words 
are said in Latin, but have the same effect when used. 
in any other language. The Priest afterwards anoints 
the child on the crown of the head with the Holy Chrism. 
He then places on the child- the white garment, em- 
blematic of innocence, accompanying the act with the 
following beautiful words : ' Receive this white garment, 
and see thou carry it without stain before the Judgment 
Seat of our Lord Jesus Christ, that thou mayest have 
eternal life. Amen.' Finally, he places in the right 
hands of the sponsors a lighted candle, emblematic of 
spiritual illumination, saying, ' Receive this burning 
light, and keep thy Baptism so as to be without blame. 
Keep the commandments of God ; that, when the Lord 
shall come to the nuptials, thou mayest meet Him in 
the company of all the Saints in the Heavenly Court, 
and have eternal life, and live for ever and ever. Amen.' 
He then dismisses the child -with the words, ' Go in 
peace, and the Lord be with thee.' 

Private Baptism may be administered by any one, in 
case of necessity, when the attendance of a Priest can- 
not be obtained. When there is a choice of persons to 
administer it, a cleric is to be preferred to a lay-person, 
a Catholic to a Protestant. In cases of extreme neces- 
sity even the parent of the child is allowed to baptise it. 
All that is necessary as regards intention is, that the 
baptiser should seriously mean to do what the Church 
intends. As to the validity of the act itself, it is neces- 
sary that the baptiser should use natural water, that 
this water should flow on the flesh of the child, and that 
the baptiser, at the time of pouring the water, should 
address the child in the following words : ' I baptise 
thee in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of 
the Holy Ghost. Amen.' The neglect of any of these 
instructions would render the Baptism invalid, or at 
any rate doubtful ; and, unless it can be certified to the 
Priest that all has been rightly done, he will have either 



60 CATHOLIC WORSHIP. 

to re-baptise the child unconditionally, or to baptise it 
under the condition. ' if thou art not baptised,' accord- 
ingly as he shall judge the previous act to be either 
positively invalid, or not certainly valid. It is the rule 
of the Church in this country to baptise all converts 
conditionally, unless it can be proved to the satisfaction 
of the Priest who receives them that they are certainly 
baptised already. The reason of this rule is, not that 
the Church doubts the validity of Baptism administered 
out of her pale, where the requisite conditions of that 
Sacrament have been duly observed, but that she de- 
sires to guard her members, in a matter of such extreme 
importance, from the possible effects of a negligence 
formerly very common, and still apt to occur where the 
Sacrament of Baptism is not sufficiently appreciated. 

n. 

THE BAPTISM OF ADULTS. 

The Baptism of Adults is properly an Episcopal 
ceremony, but is often performed by a Priest, to whom 
the Bishop of the Diocese delegates the necessary power. 
It is a rite of far more solemn and complex character 
than the Baptism of infants, and the administration of 
it is preceded by the recitation of psalms and prayers 
at the Altar. The Catechumen takes his or her place 
with the sponsors outside the church, whither the Bi- 
shop or Priest who is to administer the rite proceeds, 
after having said the preliminary portion of it. He be- 
gins by asking the Catechumen to give his or her 
name, and all answers made by the Sponsors at the 
Baptism of infants are made at that of adults by the 
Catechumen, with this difference, that the renunciation 
of Satan, and the profession of faith, which, in the case 
of infants, take place at the Font only, in the case of 
adults are made also at the beginning of the rite. The 
Catechumen is afterwards exorcised with especial refer- 



THE BAPTISM OF ADULTS. 61 

ence to the state of darkness out of which he or she is 
called ; whether it be Heathenism, Judaism. Mahomet- 
anism, or Heresy. The Catechumen is then signed 
with the sign of the Cross on the various senses, on the 
breast and shoulders, and finally on the whole person. 
Other exorcisms follow ; and one of the most striking 
parts of the ceremony is that in which the Sponsor is 
instructed to sign the Catechumen with the sign of the 
Cross, and the latter to recite the Paternoster on bended 
knee. This is done more than once, and the Catechu- 
men is again exorcised. At length, the Catechumen is 
introduced into the church, and prostrates at the en- 
trance. He or she afterwards rises, and the Bishop or 
Priest, placing his hand on the Catechumen's head, re- 
cites with him or her the Creed and Paternoster, and 
afterwards, again placing his hand on the Catechumen's 
head, once more pronounces a prayer of exorcism. All 
have now come to the Font, where the same ceremonies 
take place as have already been described in the case 
of infant baptism, except that, as has been before men- 
tioned, the questions are answered, not by the Sponsors, 
but by the Catechumen. To give additional solemnity 
to the rite, the Bishop or Priest will probably officiate 
in a cope, which will be of purple colour till the Cate- 
chumen has been anointed with the Baptismal Oil, and 
afterwards of white. It would also be quite in accord- 
ance with the intention of the Church, and add to the 
impressiveness of the rite, that the Catechumen should 
not merely have the white garment laid upon him or 
her, as in the case of infants, but be invested with it in 
the place of some other outer garment, and so return, 
wearing the white robe of innocence, with lighted 
candle in hand, into the church, and there either hear 
Mass, or at least adore the Blessed Sacrament. 



62 CATHOLIC WORSHIP. 

III. 

THE PUBLIC RECEPTION OF A CONVERT. 

It is not necessary that converts to the Church should 
make their profession and be received in iDublic ; but 
where circumstances Tender the public reception desir- 
able, it takes place according to a prescribed rule. The 
Convert, having already received conditional baptism, is 
introduced into the church and kneels at the foot of the 
Altar. The Priest then enters vested in surplice and 
stole, or, if he so please, in cope of purple colour, and, 
kneeling at the Altar, proceeds to recite with his at- 
tendants the hymn ' Veni, Creator/ which, for the sake 
of greater solemnity, may be sung in choir. The ap- 
propriate versicle, response, and prayer having been 
said or sung, the Priest takes his seat, and, with head 
covered, recites, alternately with his ministers, on be- 
half of the Convert, the Psalm ' Miserere,' which might, 
as I suppose, like the hymn, be chanted in choir. 
The ' Miserere' being concluded, the Priest takes off his 
biretta, rises, and recites the Kyrie eleison, Paternoster, 
and the usual versicles, to which the proper responses 
are made. Pie then recites the prayers for the pardon 
of the Convert, who thereupon reads the Profession of 
Faith in the Creed of Pope Pius ; after which the Con- 
fiteor is recited by the Deacon, or other Minister on be- 
half of the Convert, and the Priest follows it with the 
usual prayers for the Divine mercy. He then, without 
rising, and with head covered, pronounces, in his ju- 
dicial capacity, the absolution of the Convert from the 
sentence of excommunication incurred by heresy, re- 
storing him or her to the benefit of the Sacraments and 
to the Communion of Holy Church. The * Te Deum' is 
then sung or said with the proper versicles and prayer, 
the Priest having previously exchanged the purple stole 
(and cope, if he have worn one) for white. 



CONFIRMATION. 63' 

N.B. — The rubric of the Ritual does not specify the 
use of a cope ; but analogy, I suppose, would allow it in- 
certain cases ; and, as the earlier portion of the rite is 
penitential, and the conclusion joyful, the colour should 
be changed, as in Baptism. 

IV. 

CONFIRMATION. 

The ordinary minister of the Sacrament of Confir- 
mation is a Bishop, although the power is, in certain 
extreme cases, delegated to those who have not received 
episcopal consecration. The rubric provides that this 
Sacrament shall be received fasting ; but this rule has 
fallen (at least in England) into disuse, probably on ac- 
count of the lateness of the hour at which Confirmation 
is generally given. The ceremonies are as follow : 

The Bishop, vested in a white cope, and wearing 
the mitre, proceeds with his attendants to the Altar, 
where, the mitre being removed, he stands with his face 
towards the persons who are to be confirmed, and with 
hands joined before his breast, says the words, ' May 
the Holy Spirit come down upon you, and the virtue of 
the Most High preserve you.' Then, after the usual 
prefatory words, he extends his hands towards the per- 
sons to be confirmed, and prays for the Seven Gifts of 
the Holy Ghost in their order. He then administers 
the Sacrament to each several person (kneeling before 
him) in the following manner : He anoints the fore- 
head with the Chrism in the form of a cross, addressing 
each by the name of the Saint who has been chosen as 
a Patron or Patroness, and saying, ' N., I sign thee with 
the sign of the Cross, and confirm thee with the Chrism 
of Salvation, in the name of the Father, and of the 
Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.' While pronounc- 
ing the latter words, he makes the sign of the Cross, 
with his hand towards the person whom he is confirm- 
ing. Finally, he touches the left cheek with his hand, 



64 CATHOLIC WORSHIP. 

saying * Peace be with thee.' The holy oil is then re- 
moved from the forehead with cotton wool, or, as is the 
more rubrical practice followed in some Catholic coun- 
tries, the forehead is bound with a linen bandage till 
the oil is absorbed. The ceremony of touching the 
cheek is r^pposed to symbolise the opposition which the 
youthful soldier of Christ must expect from the world ; 
and the words ' Peace be with thee' to denote the pro- 
mised consolation of the Gospel and of the Paraclete. 
When all have been confirmed, a short verse is sung by 
the choir, after which the Bishop recites a prayer for 
the confirmed, still kneeling before him, and says the 
words ' Lo, thus shall the man be blessed that feareth 
the Lord.' He then dismisses the confirmed persons 
with a benediction. 

V. 

MATRIMONY. 

Persons who intend to enter the holy state of Matri- 
mony should present themselves before the Priest who 
is to celebrate the marriage at least three weeks before 
the day on which they wish it to take place, in order to 
ascertain if there be any impediment to the marriage, 
and receive such instructions as may be necessary. The 
most usual impediments to marriage, which require a 
dispensation for their removal, are such as arise out of 
some relationship between the parties, or from differ- 
ence of religion. It does not, however, fall within the 
scope of the present work to deal with this part of the 
subject. 

It is most in accordance with the intention of the 
Church that Mass should be celcorated at the time of 
marriage ; but this condition is not indispensable, and, 
in our own country, is too frequently omitted. The 
Church has provided, among her Votive Masses for spe- 
cial occasions, one of singular beauty for the celcbra- 



MATRIMONY, 65 

tion of marriage. This Mass may be said or sung on 
any ordinary feast, even though a doable, provided it be 
not a festival of the second class, and when a festival of 
that or any higher degree occurs on the day of the mar- 
riage, those portions of the proper Mass of Marriage 
which are immediately connected with the celebration 
of the rite are allowed to be introduced into the Mass of 
the festival. 

The Bride and Bridegroom, with their friends, hav- 
ing taken their places near the Altar (the bridegroom 
standing at the right hand of the bride) , the Priest vested 
in surplice and white stole (over which he may wear a 
white or gold cope) proceeds with his attendants to the 
Altar, where, after a short preliminary prayer, he turns 
to the bride and bridegroom, interrogates them each as to 
their consent, and afterwards proposes to them the form 
of words by which that consent is mutually expressed. 
He then joins their hands in marriage, in the name of the 
Most Blessed Trinity, and afterwards sprinkles them 
with holy water. He next requires the bridegroom to 
place in a salver the ring, and some pieces of gold and 
silver coin, to be given into the hands of the bride. He 
then blesses the ring, sprinkles it with holy water, and 
gives it into the hand of the bridegroom, instructing him 
to say the words in which he declares that he weds the 
bride with that ring, and makes over to her the gold and 
silver as a pledge oi his fidelity, ' in the name of the 
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.' 
As the bridegroom names the ' Father,' he touches the 
thumb of the bride's left hand with the ring, her fore- 
finger as he names the ' Son,' the next finger as he 
names the ' Holy Ghost,' and places it on her fourth 
finger as he says the word 'Amen.' The Priest then 
turns to the Altar, and says certain versicles with, the 
Kyrie and Paternoster, after which, if Mass be cele- 
brated, he puts on the sacerdotal vestments (which will 
be white, unless the Mass, being of one of the higher 

F 



66 CATHOLIC WORSHIP. 

festivals, should require red), and begins the Mass. It 
proceeds as usual to the Paternoster, at the end of 
which he goes to the Epistle corner of the Altar, where 
he pronounces the benediction of the bride, if it be her 
first marriage; he then returns to the middle of the 
Altar, and proceeds with the Mass, at which it is very 
usual for the bride and bridegroom to receive the Holy 
Communion. Immediately before the benediction of the 
people at the end of the Mass, the Priest again turns 
round, and pronounces a benediction on the newly-mar- 
ried pair kneeling before him. It is also customary for 
him to address to them some words of exhortation, both 
before and after the marriage-rite. If Mass be not cele- 
brated, the Priest pronounces the two benedictions at 
the end of the ceremony. 

The law of this country requires that the civil regis- 
trar shall be present at all Catholic marriages, and that 
the bride and bridegroom shall make, before leaving the 
church, a declaration of mutual consent in his presence. 
It may be well to observe that the words of this declara- 
tion are sufficient to constitute a real marriage, if used 
by the parties with that intention. They will do well, 
therefore, to bear in mind that the act thus required to 
legalise their marriage in a civil point of view is a mere 
form to which they must submit as a legal necessity, 
but which adds neither force nor solemnity to the con- 
tract which they have already made in the presence of 
God and of His Church. 

YI. 

MORTUARY OBSEQUIES AND INTERMENT. 

It is usual in all solemn commemorations of the 
dead to place a catafalque, flanked by six tall candles, 
in the choir, at which the Priest, after the celebration 
of solemn Mass, pronounces what is called the Absolu- 
tion of the departed soul ; or, on All Souls' Day, of the 



MORTUARY OBSEQUIES AND INTERMENT. 67 

Faithful Departed in general. Mass being ended, the 
Priest exchanges the chasuble for the cope, and stand- 
ing with the Deacon at one end of the catafalque, re- 
mains there while the choir sings the piece called the 
' Libera,' towards the end of which he places incense in 
fche thurible, blessing it, and, after the choir has sung 
the Eyrie, intones the Paternoster, and then receiving 
the aspersory from the Deacon, makes the circuit of the 
catafalque, sprinkling it with holy water on either side, 
and bowing as he passes the Cross, which is borne by 
the Subdeacon at the. opposite end. Having completed 
the aspersion, he receives the thurible, and again makes 
the circuit of the catafalque, incensing it, as before he 
had sprinkled it. Returning to his place, he sings the 
concluding words of the Paternoster, and afterwards 
the Versicles and Prayer of Absolution. 

When the corpse is present, the same ceremonies are 
performed at the coffin as, in commemorative offices, at 
the catafalque ; the Priest, however, always placing him- 
self at the foot of the corpse. 

The ceremonial of an interment is as follows : In 
Catholic countries the Priest and his attend ant ministers 
go to the house of the deceased, and precede the corpse 
to the church, chanting the Miserere and other appro- 
priate psalms. In our own Protestant land, where the 
free action of the Church is unhappily crippled, the 
Priest and Clergy meet the corpse at the entrance of 
the church, sprinkle the coffin with holy water, and then 
say or sing the * De profundis,' or ' Miserere,' or both, 
with their proper Antiphons ; then are sung or said the 
beautiful words, * Come to [his] aid, ye Saints of God ; 
meet [him] , ye Angels of the Lord, and receive [his] 
soul. V. May Christ, who called thee, receive thee, 
ftiicl may the Angels conduct thee into Abraham's bosom. 
R. Receive [his] soul, and offer it in the sight of the 
Most High. Eternal rest grant to [Mm] , O Lord, and 
let perpetual light shine upon [him] .' When the entire 



68 CATHOLIC WORSHIP. 

Office is performed, whether at an interment or anni- 
versary commemoration, the Matins and Lauds of the 
Dead are sung in choir, and, if at a funeral, in this 
place. High Mass then follows, with the Absolution 
before mentioned. At the funeral of a Bishop, the Ab- 
solution is given by the several attendant Bishops in 
succession. When the corpse is that of a Priest, the 
head of the coffin is placed towards the Altar ; in case 
of another, it is the reverse. It is sometimes the prac- 
tice to place on the coffin of a Priest the chalice, paten, 
and other insignia of his office, and the Priest is interred 
in the sacred vestments. When the Absolution is ended, 
the corpse is carried to the grave, the choir singing the 
following beautiful words : ' May the Angels conduct 
thee into Paradise ; at thine apj)roach may the Martyrs 
receive thee, and lead thee into the Holy City Jerusa- 
lem ; may the Choir of Angels receive thee ; and witli 
Lazarus, who was once poor, mayest thou have eternal 
rest !' 

When the grave is reached (if the cemetery be not 
consecrated), the Priest will bless it according to a pre- 
scribed form ; but as the great increase in the number 
of our cemeteries now leaves no excuse to Catholics for 
omitting to comply with the rule and practice of the 
Church, which require that the Faithful shall be in- 
terred in consecrated ground, this exceptional provision 
is daily becoming less and less necessary. 

When the corpse has been placed by the side of the 
grave, the Priest puts incense into the thurible and in- 
censes the corpse and the grave. The chanters in the 
meanwhile intone the Antiphon, ' I am the Resurrec- 
tion and the Life,' with the words following. Then is 
sung the ' Benedictus,' and the corpse is lowered into 
the grave, and earth cast upon it. After the Antiphon 
has been repeated, the Priest says the Kyrie eleison and 
Paternoster, during which he sprinkles the corpse with 
holy water, and then continues the office to the end. 



THE INTERMENT OF CHILDREN. 69 

On returning from the grave, the ' De profundis' is said 
in a low voice by the Priest and attendants. 

VII. 

THE INTERMENT OF CHILDREN. 

It is the beautiful custom of the Church to inter 
children under seven years of age with every mark of 
joy and thankfulness. Since it may be presumed that 
at that age they have not lost their baptismal innocence, 
the Church regards their death as a certain and imme- 
diate passage to glory, and does not allow any word or 
token of mourning to mar the brightness of the rite 
which she appoints for consigning them to the grave. 
The vestments of the Priest are white ; flowers are 
strewn before the corpse, which is frequently borne by 
children also arrayed in white. The procession is intro- 
duced into the church, not, as in other cases, with peni- 
tential psalms, but with such as are expressive of the 
praise which children offer to God, or of the high privi- 
leges and exalted destiny of unsullied innocence. When 
the 112th and 23d Psalms have been said or chanted, 
the Priest says or sings the Kyrie eleison and Pater- 
noster, during which he sprinkles the corpse. Then is 
said or sung a prayer for the gift of innocence like to 
that of the child about to be interred. On the way to 
the grave is sung the most joyful of the Psalms of David, 
the 148th. On reaching the grave, the Priest says or 
sings the Kyrie and Paternoster, with the following ver- 
sicle and response : V. ' Suffer little children to come 
unto Me.' R. ' For of such is the Kingdom of Heaven.' 
Then follows 2, prayer of like import with the preced- 
ing ; after which the Priest sprinkles and incenses the 
corpse, which is then lowered into the grave. The 
Priest and procession afterwards return into the church, 
reciting the Canticle of the Three Children, ' Bene- 
dicite.' On reentering the church, the Priest goes be- 



70 CATHOLIC WORSHIP. 

fore the Altar and says the prayer appointed for the 
Feast of St. Michael and All Angels, as if to indicate 
that the soul of the little innocent, whose pure body has 
just been committed to the grave, has already passed 
into the company of those Angels who behold the Face 
of God, and fulfil holy ministries for the benefit of men. 



VIII. 

ORDINATION. 

There are seven Orders in the Church, — besides the 
First Tonsure, which is not an Order, but only the act 
of initiation into the Ecclesiastical State, and therefore 
the preliminary condition of all the Orders, — which are 
as follow : 1. The Order of Ostiary or Porter ; 2. the 
Order of Lector or Header; 3. the Order of Exorcist; 
4. the Order of Acolyth ; 5. the Holy Order of Subdea- 
con; 6. the Holy Order of Deacon; 7. the Holy Order 
of Priest. — N.B. The Episcopate is not an Order dis- 
tinct from the Priesthood, but is its plenitude, though 
requiring a special act of consecration, and involving 
powers peculiar to itself. We will begin with 

The First Tonsure 

The First Tonsure can be conferred on any day, at 
any hour, and in any suitable place, upon those whom 
the Bishop judges to be duty qualified for admission to 
the Ecclesiastical State. The ceremony is as follows : 
Each candidate is habited in cassock, and carries a sur- 
plice on his left arm, and a candle in his hand. The 
Bishop, after the preliminary versicles and responses, 
calls upon those present to pray that the candidates 
may receive grace to renounce the world in spirit as 
well as in form, and to persevere in the state of life to 
which they have been called. The 15th Psalm is then 
chanted, with its proper antiphon. As soon as the 



ORDINATION. 71 

Psalm begins, the Bishop cuts off a portion of hair from 
the head of each candidate in four different places, while 
the candidate repeats with him from the fore -mentioned 
Psalm, ' The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance 
and of my chalice ; Thou art He who shalt restore to 
me mine inheritance.' It is in these words that the 
youthful ecclesiastic takes God for his portion, while his 
renunciation of worldly things is symbolised by the act 
of cutting off the hair. When all have been tonsured, 
the Bishop recites the prayer ; after which is chanted 
the 22d Psalm, with its antiphon. At its close the 
Bishop invests each of the candidates with the surplice, 
and, after a prayer, admonishes them to prize and act 
up to the privileges of their new state. 

The Four Minor Orders. 

The Four Minor Orders can be conferred, either in 
or out of Mass, on any Sunday or Double Festival ; 
but, unlike the first Tonsure, in the morning only. It 
will be unnecessary to do more than describe the char- 
acteristic ceremonies of each of these Ordinations, with- 
out entering into a detail of those general features 
which they possess in common with one another and 
with the form of admission to the Tonsure. The es- 
sence of each of the four Minor Orders consists in the 
delivery of certain instruments or insignia of the par- 
ticular Order conferred, and which the candidate is re- 
quired to touch. 

The Order of Ostiary or Porter is conferred by de- 
livering to the candidate the keys of the church, which 
he is required to touch. He is afterwards conducted to 
the door of the church or sacristy, which he locks and 
re-opens, and afterwards sounds the bell of the church. 

The Order of Lector or Reader is conferred by de- 
livering to the candidate the Book of Lessons, which he 
is required to touch. 

The Order of Exorcist is conferred by delivering to 



72 CATHOLIC WORSHIP. 

tlie candidate the Book of Exorcisms, which may be 
either the Pontifical or Missal, and which he also is 
required to touch. 

The Order of Acolyth is conferred by presenting to 
the candidate first of all a candlestick containing an 
unlighted candle, and afterwards an empty wine-cruet, 
both of which he is required to touch. 

The appropriate duties of each of these ancient Or- 
ders are expressed by their different characteristic in- 
signia. The duty of the Porter was to guard the en- 
trance of the church, admitting the worthy and excluding 
the unworthy, as well as to summon the Faithful to the 
Divine Offices by sounding the bell. Hence at his or- 
dination he receives the keys of the church and exer- 
cises his office. The duty of the Lector was, and still 
is, to read the Lessons in the Divine Office. Hence it 
is that he receives the Book of the Lessons at his ordi- 
nation. The duty of the Exorcist was to exorcise the 
possessed, an office which, according to the present dis- 
cipline of he Church, has ceased to belong to any of 
the inferior Orders ; but it is in the reception of this 
Order that the Priest receives the power which he alone 
can exercise. The Order of Acolyth, like that of Lector, 
represents a really existing clerical office, that, namely, 
of assisting with the cruets at the Holy Sacrifice of 
the Mass ; although, according to the actual practice of 
the Church, this office, like those of the Porter and Lec- 
tor, is often discharged by persons who are not clerics. 



The Holy Order of Subdeacon. 

The Subdiaconate is the lowest of the three Sacred 
Orders, and involves the obligation of celibacy, and of 
the daily recitation of the Divine Office. The candi- 
dates are required to be vested in Amiee, Alb, and 
Girdle, carrying on their left arms the maniple and 
Tunic, with which they are afterwards to be invested, 



ORDINATION. id 

and in the right hand a candle. They are summoned 
by name, and the title of their Ordination specified, 
whether it be the service of the diocese, private patri- 
mony, or Religious poverty. The Bishop, at a certain 
part of the Mass, takes his seat before the middle of the 
Altar. The candidates are summoned before him, and 
addressed by him on the serious and irrevocable na- 
ture of the step they are about to take. The Litanies 
of the Saints are afterwards chanted, and all the candi- 
dates for the several Holy Orders who are present 
prostrate on the ground during their recitation. After 
the petition for the faithful departed, the Bishop rises, 
and pronounces three special supplications for the bene- 
diction, sanctification, and consecration of the candi- 
dates. The Litanies being ended, the Bishop instructs 
the candidates for the Subdiaconate in the duties of 
their office, which are chiefly to assist the Deacon in 
the Holy Sacrifice, and to wash the sacred linen used 
in the Mass. The address being ended, the Bishop de- 
livers to each an empty chalice and paten to be touched, 
reminding them, in the form of words used in the de- 
livery, of the greatness of the ministry thus committed 
to them. The cruets (containing wine and water) are 
then delivered to be touched by each candidate, and 
afterwards the basin and towel used in washing the 
fingers of the Priest at Mass. The Bishop then invites 
a prayer for the newly ordained. He afterwards draws 
over the head of each the amice previously borne on the 
neck, and invests them with the maniple and tunic ; 
after which he delivers to each the Book of Epistles to 
touch. The Subdeacons then withdraw, and one of 
them sings the Epistle of the Mass, and the Bishop con- 
tinues the Mass to the point at which, he returns to his 
seat to administer 

The Order of Deacon. 
Those who are admitted to the Order of Deacon un- 



74 CATHOLIC WORSHIP. 

doubtedly receive the Sacrament of Orders, and the rite 
has certain features of solemnity which do not belong 
to the preceding Ordinations. Among these are a so- 
lemn Preface, chanted by the Bishop with extended 
hands ; at the end of which he imposes his right hand 
on the head of each candidate, saying the words, * Re- 
ceive the Holy Ghost for strength and power to resist 
the devil and his temptations, in the name of the Lord.' 
The Bishop then continues the Preface to the end, and 
afterwards invests the Deacons with the ensigns of their 
Order. They are already vested in amice, alb, girdle, 
and maniple, and carry on their left arms the stole and 
dalmatic. The Bishop invests them first with the stole, 
which is placed on the left shoulder, and fastened under 
the right arm. He then places on each the dalmatic, 
and afterwards delivers to each the Book of the Gospels 
to be touched. The Gospel of the Mass is sung by one 
of the newly-ordained Deacons. 

The Subdeacon thus acquires by his Ordination the 
official right to touch the holy vessels and linen after 
the Blessed Sacrament has come into contact with it. 
This power, which he possesses in virtue of his Ordina- 
tion, has been extended by custom to other Ecclesias- 
tics, and can be given by the Ordinary to Sacristans, 
even though not Ecclesiastics. The Deacon acquires 
by his Ordination the right to touch vessels, even when 
they contain the Blessed Sacrament. The Deacon may 
also receive from the Bishop the faculty to preach. 

The Ordination of Priests. 

The Deacons who are to be ordained to the Priest- 
hood wear all the vestments of their Order, except the 
dalmatic, in the place of wirich they cany the chasuble 
on their left arm. The Litanies are always chanted 
with the same ceremonies as have been described under 
the Ordination of Subdeacon when any of the Sacred 
Orders are conferred. After the Litanies, the Bishop 



ORDINATION. 75 

silently imposes both hands on the head of each Deacon 
who is to be ordained to the Priesthood, and the same 
is afterwards done by every Priest present. The Bishop 
then, with extended hands, sings the appointed Preface. 
The Preface being ended, the Bishop places the stole 
on the neck of each, carrying the two ends over the 
breast in the form of a cross, and saying the words, 
1 Receive the yoke of the Lord ; for His yoke is sweet, 
and His burden is light.' He then places on each the 
chasuble, but with the hinder part of it so folded as to 
cover the shoulders only. Then, after a prayer, the 
Bishop intones the hymn ' Veni Creator,' which is con- 
tinued by the choir. After singing the first verse, the 
Bishop proceeds to' anoint the hands of each Priest, 
kneeling before him, with the Oil of the Catechumens. 
The hands are afterwards bound together, with the ex- 
ception of the fingers. The Bishop delivers to each the 
chalice, containing wine and water, and the paten with 
the bread, which are received and touched. The Mass 
then proceeds to the Offertory, during the singing of 
which, or before, the newly-ordained Priests wash the 
remains of the holy oil from their hands with water 
and bread-crumbs. Each one of them afterwards offers 
to the Bishop a lighted candle, as is done by all those 
who have been ordained, and then proceeds to sa}^ aloud 
with him the words of the Mass, beginning with those 
which are appointed for the Oblation of the Bread. The 
Bishop gives the 'pax' at the proper time to one of 
the newly- ordained in each Order, and he to the next, 
and so on, until it has been received by all, and the 
newly- ordained receive the Holy Communion. If Priests 
only be ordained, the Confession and Absolution prayers 
before Communion are not said, because they celebrate 
Mass conjointly with the Bishop, and are not therefore 
in the position of ordinary communicants. The newly- 
ordained receive a portion of unconsecrated wine after 
Communion as an ablution. "When the usual ablutions 



76 CATHOLIC WORSHIP. 

have been received, the Bishop intones the following 
words, which are sung by the choir : ' I call you not 
now servants, but friends, because you have known all 
things which I have wrought in the midst of you. Alle- 
luia,' &c. The newly-ordained Priests here recite the 
Creed as a profession of their faith. The Bishop then, 
imposing his hands on each, imparts to them the pow T er 
of Absolution in the same words in which it was given 
by our Lord to the Apostles, at the same time lowering 
the hinder part of the chasuble, wliich had been previ- 
ously folded up. Each of the Priests then places his 
joined hands within the hands of the Bishop, promises 
him reverence and obedience, and the Bishop gives him 
in return the kiss of peace. Finally the Bishop warns 
the newly-ordained Priests of the awful and perilous 
nature of the Sacrifice they are now empowered to offer, 
and admonishes them to take counsel of the more ex- 
perienced of their brethren as to the manner of offer- 
ing it. 

It should be observed that, although Priests receive 
the power of Absolution at the time of their Ordination, 
they cannot exercise that power till they have received 
the necessary faculties or jurisdiction from the Bishop 

IX. 

CONSECRATION OF A BTSHOP. 

On the day appointed for the Consecration, which 
will be either a Sunday or high-class festival, two 
Altars are prepared, one for the consecrating Bishop, 
and the other for the Bishop Elect. That for the Bishop 
Elect will have two large candlesticks with lighted 
candles, and upon it will be placed the episcopal vest- 
ments (including a cope), which will be white, even 
though the colour of the day be different. The Altar 
for the Consecrator will be larger, and furnished with 
six (or at least four) large candlesticks, while all that 



CONSECRATION OF A 13ISHOP. i t 

is necessary for the ceremony will be placed on cre- 
dence-tables. Two Bishops are required to unite with 
the Consecrator in the act of consecrating the Bishop 
Elect. The rite begins by the senior of the two as- 
sisting Bishops petitioning the Consecrator to proceed 
to the consecration; upon which the Consecrator de- 
mands the Papal Mandate, which is handed to him and 
read by him. The Elect then recites on his knees the 
episcopal oath, but this is sometimes taken in the Sac- 
risty, or in a private chapel, before the public ceremony. 
The oath having been read by the Elect, and taken on 
the Holy Gospels, the Consecrator proceeds to interro- 
gate him in a series of questions upon the duties of the 
momentous office to which he is called. This examina- 
tion being ended, the Consecrator begins the Mass at 
the foot of the Altar (the Elect at first standing by his 
side), and proceeds with it as far as the Alleluia, or last 
verse of the Tract or Sequence exclusively. In the 
mean time, the Elect has been conducted by the assist- 
ing Bishops to his own chapel, where, being divested of 
the cope which he has previously worn, he assumes the 
episcopal vestments of the Mass, and proceeds to say it 
simultaneously with the Consecrator, and up to the 
same point with him. A prayer for the Bishop Elect is 
added to the Collect of the day. The two Masses hav- 
ing proceeded to the last verse of the tract or sequence 
exclusive, the Consecrator takes his seat before the 
middle of the Altar, and the Elect is brought into his 
presence by the two assisting Bishops. The Consecra- 
tor then instructs the Elect on the office of a Bishop. 
He afterwards invites those present to pray that the 
Elect may receive strength from God for the discharge 
of his office. All then kneel, except the Elect, who pro- 
strates on the ground at the left of the Consecrator. 
The Litanies of the Saints are then chanted as far as 
the petition, ' Ut omnibus fidelibus defunctis,' &c. in- 
clusive, after which the Consecrator rises (as in the rite 



78 CATHOLIC WOBSHir. 

of Ordination) and sings three special petitions for the 
Elect ; praying the first time that he may be ' blessed,' 
the second that he may be also ' sanctified,' and the 
third that he may also be ' consecrated,' making on each 
occasion the sign of the Cross over him. The Litanies 
being ended, the Consecrator places the open Book of 
the Gospels on the neck and shoulders of the Elect, 
where it continues to be held. Afterwards the Conse- 
crator and assisting Bishops impose their hands on the 
head of the Elect, saying the words of consecration, 
'Receive the Holy Ghost;' after which the Consecra- 
tor says a short prayer for the Divine blessing. The 
Consecrator then, extending his hands, sings the Pre- 
face ; after which, kneeling at the foot of the Altar, he 
intones the first words of the hymn 'Veni Creator,' 
which the choir continues. The first verse of the hymn 
being ended, the Consecrator takes his seat before the 
middle of the Altar, and anoints with the Holy Chrism 
the head of the Elect, making afterwards with his right 
hand the sign of the Cross over it. He then recites a 
long and most beautiful prayer for the Divine grace and 
benediction, after which he intones the antiphon from 
the 13 2d Psalm, which the choir takes up and con- 
tinues. He next anoints the joined hands of the Elect in 
the same form as at the Ordination of a Priest, using, 
however, the Chrism instead of the Oil of the Catechu- 
mens, and afterwards binds them together with a linen 
cloth with which the Elect had been previously invested. 
The Consecrator next blesses the crosier (if not previ- 
ously blessed), and delivers it with a form of words to 
the Elect, who receives it between the fingers. He then 
delivers to him in the same manner the Episcopal Ring, 
placing it on the fourth finger of the right hand. He 
next takes the Book of the Gospels from the shoulders 
of the Elect, and delivers it to him closed ; the Elect 
touches the Book, but without opening his hands, which 
have remained bound since they were anointed. The 



CONSECRATION OF A EISHOP. 71) 

Consecrator then, as well as the assisting Bishops, give 
to the Elect the lass of peace. The Elect is then con- 
ducted to his own chapel, where his head and hands 
are purified after the Unction, and the Consecrator pro- 
ceeds with the Mass as far as the Offertory, as does also 
the Elect. The Offertory having been said, the Conse- 
crator takes his seat before the middle of the High 
Altar, where the Elect, having been conducted into his 
presence by the assisting Bishops, makes an offering to 
him of two large wax candles lighted, two loaves and 
two small barrels of wine (the loaves and barrels being 
silvered and gilt) , at the same time reverently kissing 
the Consecratofs hand. The Consecrator then proceeds 
to the Altar and continues the Mass, saying all the 
words aloud. The newly-consecrated Bishop goes to 
the same Altar, and there, standing at the Epistle side 
between the two assisting Bishops, says the words of 
the Mass simultaneously with the Consecrator, from 
another Missal. "When the first of the three prayers be- 
fore Communion has been said, the Consecrator gives 
the kiss of peace to the Consecrated, and he to the as- 
sisting Bishops, When the Consecrator has received 
the Body and Blood of our Lord, he communicates the 
Consecrated from the same Host and chalice.* The 
Consecrated afterwards goes to the Gospel side of the 
Altar, and continues the Mass with the Consecrator, 
who is now on the Epistle side. When the Mass is 
ended, the Consecrator takes his seat at the middle of 
the Altar, and places the mitre, previously blessed, on 
the head of the newly-consecrated Bishop. He after- 
wards places on his hands the episcopal gloves, previ- 
ously blessed, accompanying both acts by the prescribed 
words of presentation. The Consecrator then rises, and 
enthrones the new Bishop in his own seat, or, should 

* Both Catalano and Morinns interpret the Rubric of the 
Pontifical as determining that one Host only shall be consecrated 
for the Communion of the two Bishops. 



80 CATHOLIC WORSHIP. 

the Bishop be consecrated in his cathedral church, in 
the throne which he is afterwards to occupy ; giving at 
the same time the crosier into his left hand. The Con- 
secrator then intones the ' Te Deum,' which is continued 
by the choir. When the hymn begins, the new Bishop 
is conducted by his assistant Bishops through the 
church, and blesses the people as he proceeds ; he then 
returns to his seat, where he remains till the hymn is 
ended. A short verse is afterwards sung, and the Con- 
secrator recites the prayer appointed in the Missal to 
be used for a Bishop. Finally, the newly-consecrated 
Bishop, genuflecting at the Epistle corner of the Altar, 
salutes his Consecrator in the words ' Ad multos annos,' 
which he repeats three times on his knees, each time in 
a higher tone of voice, and when he has sung them for 
the third time, the Consecrator and assisting Bishops 
exchange with him the kiss of peace. The office con- 
cludes with the Gospel of St. John, which is said both 
by the Consecrator and the newly-consecrated Bishop. 

X. 

CONCLUSION. 

And now, kind reader, you have before you, in as 
complete a form as consists with the limits of my work 
and ability, a picture of Catholic Worship in those so- 
lemn Offices and public Devotions of the Church, which 
Catholics are most apt to frequent, and strangers to 
witness. Imperfect as this representation is, it will 
suffice to exemplify and illustrate the careful forethought 
and reverential precision with which the Church every- 
where provides for the honour of her Lord, and of all 
which in any way relates to Him. That complex as- 
semblage of rubrical provisions in which the eye of an 
uninstructed curiosity often sees nothing but a collec- 
tion of useless and unmeaning forms, is to the Catholic 
heart the visible expression of certain great principles, 



CONCLUSION. 81 

which the Church loves to impress upon her children in 
every manifestation of her spirit. Among these prin- 
ciples may be specified : 1. The reverential love of God 
and of His Saints. 2. The ineffable dignity and sanc- 
tity of His Presence in the Most Holy Sacrament. 3. The 
honour due to His consecrated servants, and to all who 
minister at His Altar. 4. The holiness required of those 
who enter His House, and especially of such as come 
near His Tabernacle. 5. The exact perfection to be 
studied in all that relates to His service. 6. The charity 
and courtesy which should mark the intercourse of 
Christians. The Ceremonial of the Church is in truth 
the transcript of her Faith, the epitome of her laws, and 
the mirror of her mind. And if even one inquirer shall 
be led by this little work to regard and study it under 
this aspect of its character, the chief object of the writer 
will have been accomplished. 

TO THE HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH. 

Mother of Saints ! how beautiful thou art ! 

In speech how gracious, how august in mien ! 
Guide of the conscience, Mistress of the heart, 

In all tlry steps confess'd a Sov'reign Queen ! 

There are who deem thy comely pomp a show, 
Thy ceremonies gauds for children meet ; 

Vainly they prate to me, for well I know 

How lovely are thy courts, thy words how sweet. 

Kings have their marshals, palaces their state, 
E'en Christian homes their daily courtesies ; 

For Rev rence doth on Love obsequious wait, 
And Love that lacks respect decays and dies. 

And shall Thy Home, O King of kings, alone 
No tokens of Thy Majesty display? 

Shall no glad courtiers muster near Thy throne, 
No duteous escort guard Thee on Thy way ? 

G 



82 CATHOLIC WORSHIP. 

Forbid it, Lord ! nor let the world intrude 
Her lawless maxims on Thy virgin code ; 

Nor sullen Heresy with whisp 'rings crude 
Break on the stillness of Thy star-lit road. 

Each symbol of Thy Presence, Lord, is dear : 
The holy vessel, and the costly vest ; 

The Altar, where Thy Spirit comes so near ; 
The Tabernacle, where Thou deign'st to rest. 

But chiefly dear, because to Thee most nigh, 

Thy Priests and Levites, princes of Thy choice, 

And they who at Thy Board their service ply, 
And they who lift in choir the gladsome voice. 

By rev'rent gesture or by staid salute 

Their faith they witness, or their fealty prove ; 

And yield, in measur'd forms and acts minute, 
Their loyal homage of punctilious love. 

And Thou, whose wakeful eye doth count the sand, 
And track the sparrow as it falls to earth, 

Shalt note, and recompense with bounteous hand, 
Each least and lowest deed of Christian worth.* 

* Lyra Liiurgica, ' Holy Ceremonies.' 



GLOSSARY OF ECCLESIASTICAL TERMS 
USED IX THIS WORK. 



ABLUTIONS. The wine, or wine and water, used in wash- 
ing the chalice or the fingers of tbe Priest after contact 
with the Blessed Sacrament, and received by him after 
the Holy Communion. 

ACOLYTH. A cleric who has received the highest of the 
Four Minor Orders, or a minister who, though not a 
cleric, discharges the offices of that Order in the High 
Mass. The minister at a Low Mass is usually called a 
Server. 

AGNUS DEL The triple invocation addressed to the Lamb 
of God in the Mass shortly before the Communion. 

ALB. One of the sacred vestments, consisting of a long 
linen robe, worn in the Mass and some other solemn 
Offices by all in Holy Orders. 

ALTAR OF REPOSE. The Altar at which the Most Holy 
Sacrament is reserved during part of Holy Thursday 
and of Good Friday ; sometimes, though less correctly, 
termed the Sepulchre. Also an Altar on which the Most 
Holy Sacrament rests during a pause in a Procession. 

AMICE. One of the sacred vestments, consisting of an 
oblong piece of linen, used by all in Holy Orders. An- 
ciently worn as a hood on the head, and still so worn in 
some Religious Orders ; but usually placed on the neck, 
and tied round the waist. The ancient use of the Amice 
is signified by the practice of touching the head with it 
before placing it on the neck. It is worn under the alb, 
or over the surplice. 

ANTEPENDIUM. The movable framed frontal of the 
Altar, varying in colour according to the day or season. 

ANTIPHON. A verse preceding and following a Psalm or 
Canticle, usually taken from it, and designed to suggest 
the spirit or intention in which it is used by the Church. 

ARK. The special tabernacle in which the Most Holy 
Sacrament is reserved between Holy Thursday and Goo I 
Friday. 



84 GLOSSARY. 

ASPERGES. The ceremony of sprinkling the people with 
holy water before the High Mass on Sundays through- 
out the year. 

ASPERSORY. The brush or instrument used in sprinkling 
holy water. 

BALDACCHINO. A canopy used for sacred purposes. 

BAPTISTERY. The enclosed space near the entrance of a 
church in which the Baptismal Font is placed. 

BIRETTA. A square cap worn by clerics. 

BUGIA. The candle used in assisting the Bishop. 

BURSE. The case containing the corporal. 

CANON. That portion of the great Eucharistic Rite which 
comes between the Sanctus and Communion, and relates 
immediately to the Act of Sacrifice. Canon is a Greek 
word signifying a ?nUe, and is here used of that rule, or 
set form of words, according to which the Church dis- 
charges this high commission of her Divine Lord. The 
term is also applied to the sacred book used in Episcopal 
Masses instead of the ordinary altar cards, and contain- 
ing the Canon (whence its name) and all other parts of 
the Mass which do not vary with the day. 

CAPITULUM. A short passage of Holy Scripture used in 
the Divine Office. 

CAPPA MAGNA. A silk robe with a long train worn by 
Bishops. 

CATAFALQUE. A mortuary structure representing a bier 
and coffin. 

CATECHUMEN. A candidate for Baptism under instruc- 
tion. 

CELEBRANT. The Bishop or Priest in the act of cele- 
brating the Holy Mass. 

CHALICE. The sacred cup of precious metal used in the 
Holy Mass for the consecration of the wine. 

CHANTERS (or CANTORS). The singers who lead the 
chant. 

C HASUBLE. The outer vestment of the celebrant. 

CIBORIUM. The vessel of precious metal in which, the 
Most Holy Sacrament is reserved for the communion of 
the faithful. 

CINCTURE. See Girdle. 

COMME MORATION. The memorial in the Holy Mass or 
the Divine Office of some Saint or Mystery other than 
that which forms the principal subject of the festival. 



GLOSSARY. 85 

COMPLIN. The final or complemental Office of the day. 

CONFITEOR. The public confession of sin made respec- 
tively by the Priest and people in the Mass or Office. 

CONFRATERNITY. A holy association formed with the 
view of promoting some devotional object. 

COPE. An ample vestment worn by the Bishop or Priest 
when officiating out of Mass, and occasionally also by 
others. * 

CORPORAL. A square linen cloth placed under the Most 
Holy Sacrament, or some vessel containing it ; so called 
from its connection with the Sacred Body of our Lord. 

COTTA. A surplice. 

CREDENCE. A table placed in the Sanctuary for such 
things as are required at Holy Mass. 

CREDO. The Nicene Creed said in the Mass on all Sun- 
days and great Festivals, as well as on certain others of 
lesser dignity. It is so called from the first word of the 
Creed. 

CROSIER. The staff or crook borne by Bishops in their 
own dioceses as a symbol of the pastoral office. 

CRUETS. Small vessels for containing the wine and water 
used in the Holy Sacrifice. 

DALMATIC. The outer vestment of the Deacon. 

DEACON. A cleric who has received the second of the 
three Holy Orders, or a Priest discharging the office of 
that Order at the High Mass, or assisting a Bishop at 
a pontifical celebration. The term Sacred Ministers is 
applied exclusively to the Deacon and Subdeacon. 

DOUBLE (Festival). A Festival of the higher rank. Dou- 
ble Festivals are either, 1. Doubles of the First Class ; 
2. Doubles of the Second Class ; 3. Greater Doubles ; 
4. Doubles. The other classes of Festivals below the 
rank of Doubles are, 1. Semidoubles ; 2. Simples. Days 
on which no Festival occurs are called Ferias. 

ELEVATION. The lifting up of the Sacred Host and 
Chalice after consecration for the adoration of the faith- 
ful present at Mass. 

EXORCISM. The prayer or act employed in adjuring the 
Evil Spirit to quit the human body or other created 
thing possessed by him. 

FALDSTOOL (i.e. FolditooY). A stool which folds up, 
used by Bishops at episcopal celebrations. 

FERIAL RITE. The rite, or form of celebration, proper 



SQ GLOSSARY. 

to a Feria. (See Double.) According to this rite, the 
Collects, Preface, Paternoster, and * Ite missa est' in the 
Mass, are sung to a simpler tone than on Festivals. 
FOETY HOUES (Devotion of the). A continuous exposi- 
tion of the Blessed Sacrament between the High Mass 
of one day and the High Mass of the day but one fol- 
lowing. The former of these High Masses is called the 
Mass of Exposition, and the latter the Mass of Deposi- 
tion. On the intermediate day a solemn Votive Mass of 
Peace is sung at another altar than that at which the 
Blessed Sacrament is exposed. At Eome, and in some 
other places, this devotion is observed successively at the 
various churches throughout the year. In England it 
is practised between Ash Wednesday and Palm Sunday 
inclusive. 

GIEDLE (or CINCTUEE). A cord used with the sacred 
vestments for confining the alb. 

GLOEIA IN EXCELSIS. The Angelic hymn which fol- 
lows the Kyrie in the Mass, except on penitential days, 
in Masses of Requiem-, on Ferias occurring out of Pas- 
chal-tide, and in most of the Votive Masses. 

GEADUAL. A portion of the Mass which follows the 
Epistle, so called because anciently sung on the steps of 
the altar. 

HOLY WATEE. Water blessed for religious uses. A por- 
tion of salt (also blessed) is mingled with it. 

HOST (Lat. Hostia, a victim). The Most Precious Body of 
our Lord, present in the Holy Eucharist, or the Bread 
before it has been transubstantiated. 

HUMEEAL VEIL. A veil to cover the shoulders. 

INTEOIT. The opening words proper to the Mass of the 
day, usually consisting of a text from Holy Scripture, 
with the first verse of a psalm, and the Gloria Patri. 

KYEIE ELEISON. The petition for the Divine Mercy 
nine times repeated after the Introit in all Masses. The 
Greek form of the words may be regarded as a symbol 
of the unity of east and w r est in the Catholic Church. 
A similar token of this unity occurs in the Eesponses to 
the Eeproaches on Good Friday. 

LAV ABO. The portion of Psalm xxv. recited by the cele- 
brant at the w r ashing of the fingers in the Mass. The 
■word is also used of the act to which these words relate, 
and of the small cloth used by the Priest in wiping the 
lingers. 



GLOSSARY. 87 

LAUDS. The Divine Office of Praise following the Matins. 

LUNETTE. A small crescent-shaped or circular frame, in 
which the Blessed Sacrament is placed for solemn Ex- 
position, and which is fitted into the Monstrance. 

MASTER OF CEREMONIES. The cleric, or other mini- 
ster, charged with the general direction of the ceremo- 
nies in solemn celebrations, as well as with certain 
special duties peculiar to his office. 

MANIPLE. A sacred vestment worn on the left arm dur- 
ing the celebration of Mass by all in Holy Orders. 

MONSTRANCE. A stand of precious metal used for the 
solemn Exposition of the Holy Sacrament. 

NOCTURN. One of the three divisions of the Office of 
Matins, so called because anciently, and still in many 
Religious Communities, sung during the night. 

OSTENSORIUM. See Monstrance. 

PALL. A square stiffened piece of linen, placed on the 
chalice at Mass. 

PATEN. The sacred plate of precious metal on which the 
Host is placed at Mass. 

PAX. The kiss of peace, given and received at the High 
Mass, and some other solemn Offices. Also the instru- 
ment sometimes used by Bishops for the same purpose. 

PISCINA. A drain near the Altar for carrying off the re- 
mains of sacred liquids. 

PREDELLA. The highest step of the Sanctuary, on which 
the Altar stands. 

PREFACE. The solemn words of introduction to the 
Canon of the Mass, varying with the season. 

RELIC. A portion of the body of a Saint, or of some sub- 
stance which has come into contact with it, exposed or 
resented, after proper authentication, for the devout 
eneration of the faithful. 

REQUIEM (Mass of). A Mass celebrated, with the ap- 
pointed rite, for the Repose of the Departed, so called 
from the first word of the Introit. When the Office of 
the Dead as well as the Mass is sung, the ceremony is 
usually called a Dirge. 

SANCTUARY. The enclosed space surrounding the Altar. 

SANCTUS. The triple invocation of the Most Holy, Three 
Persons in One God, at the conclusion of the Preface in 
the Mass. 

SEDILIA. The seats in the Sanctuary for the officiating 
Trlest and his Ministers. 



88 GLOSSARY. 

SEMIDOUBLE (Festival). See Double. 

SEQUENCE. A hynin introduced into' the Mass on certain 
days, and, as the name imports, folloiuiug the Gradual. 
The Sequences are five : 1. The 4 Victimse Paschali,' for 
Easter week. 2. The * Yeni Sancte Spiritus,' for Pente- 
cost. 3. The ' Lauda Sion,' for Corpus Christi. 4. The 
; Stabat Mater,' for the two Feasts of the Seven Dolours. 
5. The ' Dies irse,' in Masses of Bequiem. 

STATIONS OF THE CROSS. A series of pictures, or other 
representations, of our Lord's Passion, or the Devotions 
practised before them. 

STOLE. A narrow scarf worn by Bishops, Priests, and 
Deacons : by Priests, round the neck, and, when with 
the alb, crossed over the breast and confined by the 
Girdle ; by Deacons, across the left shoulder and joined 
under the right arm ; by Bishops, uncrossed, even at 
Mass. 

SUBDEACON. A cleric who has received the lowest of 
the three Holy Orders, or one discharging at the High 
Mass the office of that Order. 

TABERNACLE. The receptacle for the Most Holy Sacra- 
ment permanently standing on the Altar. 

THURIBLE. A portable censer. 

T HURIFER. The minister of the thurible. 

THRONE. The elevated stand on which the Monstrance 
containing the Blessed Sacrament is placed during a 
solemn Exposition. 

TRACT. Certain verses, taken generally from the Psalms, 
substituted for the Alleluias after the Gradual in peni- 
tential seasons, anciently sung in a protracted and plain- 
tive tone, whence the name. 

TUNIC. The outer vestment of the Subdeacon, similar to 
the dalmatic. 

VEIL. The outer covering of silk, or cloth-of-gold, placed 
over the chalice and paten, when not immediately in use 
at the Mass. 

VERSICLE. A short verse, said or sung by the officiating 
Priest, and answered by the people in a Response. 

VESPERS. The Evening Office of the Church. 

VOTIVE MASS. A Mass of special devotion other than 
the Mass of the day. 



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